\ 


A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 


WILLIAM   BLACK 


NEW  AND  REVISED  EDITION 


NEW    YOEK 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    FRANKLIN    SQUARE 

1892 


LONDON 

PRINTED  BY  WILLIAM  OLOWE6  AND  SONS,    UMITKl' 
9TAMFOBD  STREET  AND  CHABING  OBO33 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP. 

I. — "  LOCHABEB  NO   MORE  " 1 

II. — THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER         ....  12 

III. — THERE  WAS  A  KING  IN  THULE       ....  35 

IV.— KOMANCE-TlME 46 

V.— SHEILA  SINGS 66 

VI. — AT  BAKVAS  BRIDGE      ......  80 

VII. — AN  INTERMEDDLER        .                           ...  102 

VIII. — "  O   TERQUE    QUATERQUE    BEATE  !  ''    .             .             .             .  118 

IX. — "  FAREWELL,  MACKRIMMON  !  "        .         .         .         .  136 

X.— FAIRY-LAND.         .         ." 153 

XI. — THE  FIRST  PLUNGE      .         .  174 

XII. — TRANSFORMATION 188 

XIII.— BY  THE  WATERS  OF  BABYLON       ....  203 
XIV.— DEEPER  AND  DEEPER    . 

XV.— A  FRIEND  IN  NEED      .         .                  ...  242 

XVI.— EXCHANGES 259 

XVII.— GUESSES •         -277 

XVIIL— SHEILA'S  STRATAGEM 291 

XIX.— A  NEW  DAY  BREAKS    . 

XX.— A  SURPRISE 333 

XXI.— MEETING  AND  PARTING 350 

XXII.— "LIKE  HADRIANUS  AND  AUGUSTUS" 
XXIII.— IN  EXILE     . 
XXIV.—"  HAME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE  "  . 
XXV.— THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "PHCKBE"    .         .         .         .428 

XXVI.— EEDINTEGRATIO  AMORIS 448 

XXVII.— THE  PRINCESS  SHBILA 467 


•OG6166 


A  PEINCESS  OF  THULE. 


CHAPTER  I 

"LOCHABER  NO  MORE." 

ON  a  small  headland  of  the  distant  island  of  Lewis,  an  old 
man  stood  looking  out  on  a  desolate  waste  of  rain-beaten 
sea.  It  was  a  wild  and  a  wet  day.  From  out  of  the  louring 
south-west,  fierce  gusts  of  wind  were  driving  up  volumes 
and  flying  rags  of  cloud,  and  sweeping  onward  at  the  same 
time  the  gathering  waves  that  fell  hissing  and  thundering 
on  the  shore.  Far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  sea  and  the 
air  and  the  sky  seemed  to  be  one  indistinguishable  mass  of 
whirling  and  hurrying  vapour — as  if  beyond  this  point  there 
were  no  more  land,  but  only  wind  and  water,  and  the 
confused  and  awful  voices  of  their  strife. 

The  short,  thick-set,  powerfully-built  man  who  stood  on 
this  solitary  point,  paid  little  attention  to  the  rain  that  ran 
off  the  peak  of  his  sailor's  cap,  or  to  the  gusts  of  wind  that 
blew  about  his  bushy  grey  beard.  He  was  still  following, 
with  an  eye  accustomed  to  pick  out  objects  far  at  sea,  one 
speck  of  purple  that  was  now  fading  into  the  grey  mist  of 
the  rain  ;  and  the  longer  he  looked  the  less  it  became,  until 
the  mingled  sea  and  sky  showed  only  the  smoke  that  the 
great  steamer  left  in  its  wake.  As  he  stood  there,  motionless 
and  regardless  of  everything  around  him,  did  he  cling  to  the 
fancy  that  he  could  still  trace  out  the  path  of  the  vanished 
ship  ?  A  little  while  before,  it  had  passed  almost  close  to  him. 
He  had  watched  it  steam  out  of  Stornoway  harbour.  As  the 
sound  of  the  engines  came  nearer,  and  the  big  boat  went 
by,  so  that  he  could  have  almost  called  to  it,  there  was  no  sign 
of  emotion  on  the  hard  and  stern  face — except,  perhaps,  that 

B 


2  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

the  lips  were  held  firm,  and  a  sort  of  frown  appeared  over 
the  eyes.  He  saw  a  tiny  white  handkerchief  being  waved  to 
him  from  the  deck  of  the  vessel ;  and  he  said — almost  as 
though  he  were  addressing  some  one  there — 

"  My  good  lass  I  " 

But  in  the  midst  of  that  roaring  of  the  sea  and  the  wind, 
how  could  any  such  message  be  delivered  ? — and  already  the 
steamer  was  away  from  the  land,  standing  out  to  the  lonely 
plain  of  waters,  and  the  sound  of  the  engines  had  ceased, 
and  the  figures  on  the  deck  had  grown  faint  and  visionary. 
But  still  there  was  that  one  speck  of  white  visible  ;  and  the 
man  knew  that  a  pair  of  eyes  that  had  many  a  time  looked 
into  his  own — -as  if  with  a  faith  that  such  intercommunion 
could  never  be  broken — were  now  trying,  through  over- 
flowing and  blinding  tears,  to  send  him  a  last  look  of  farewell. 

The  grey  mists  of  the  rain  gathered  within  their  folds  the 
big  vessel,  and  all  the  beating  hearts  it  contained ;  and  the 
fluttering  of  that  little  token  disappeared  with  it.  All  that 
remained  was  the  sea  whitened  by  the  rushing  of  the  wind, 
and  the  thunder  of  waves  on  the  beach.  The  man  who 
had  been  gazing  so  long  down  into  the  south-east,  turned 
his  face  landward,  and  set  out  to  walk  over  a  tract  of  wet 
grass  and  sand,  towards  a  road  that  ran  near  by.  There 
was  a  large  waggonette,  of  varnished  oak,  and  a  pair  of  small, 
powerful  horses  waiting  for  him  there ;  and,  having  dismissed 
the  boy  who  had  been  in  charge,  he  took  the  reins  and  got 
up.  But  even  yet  the  fascination  of  the  sea  and  of  that 
sad  farewell  was  upon  him  ;  and  he  turned  once  more  as  if, 
now  that  sight  could  yield  him  no  further  tidings,  he  would 
send  her  one  more  word  of  good-bye. 

"  My  poor  little  Sheila  I " — that  was  all  he  said  ;  and  then 
he  turned  to  the  horses,  and  sent  them  on,  with  his  head 
down  to  escape  the  rain,  and  a  look  on  his  face  like  that  of 
a  dead  man. 

As  he  drove  through  the  town  of  Stornoway,  the  children 
playing  within  the  shelter  of  the  cottage  doors,  called  to 
each  other  in  a  whisper,  and  said — 

"  That  is  the  king  of  Borva." 

But  the  elderly  people  said  to  each  other,  with  a  shake  of 
the  head — 

"  It  iss  a  bad  day,  this  day,  for  Mr.  Mackenzie,  that  he 


"  LOCHABER  NO  MORE  "  3 

will  be  going  home  to  an  empty  house.  And  it  will  be  a 
ferry  bad  thing  for  the  poor  folk  of  Borva,  and  they  will 
know  a  great  difference,  now  that  Miss  Sheila  iss  gone  away, 
and  there  iss  nobody — not  anybody  at  all — left  in  the  island 
to  tek  the  side  o'  the  poor  folk." 

He  looked  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left — though  he 
was  known  to  many  of  the  people — as  he  drove  away  from 
the  town  into  the  heart  of  the  lonely  and  desolate  land. 
The  wind  had  so  far  died  down,  and  the  rain  had  con- 
siderably lessened  ;  but  the  gloom  of  the  sky  was  deepened 
by  the  drawing  on  of  the  afternoon,  and  lay  heavily  over 
the  dreary  wastes  of  moor  and  hill.  What  a  wild  and 
dismal  country  was  this  which  lay  before  and  all  around  him, 
now  that  the  last  traces  of  human  occupation  were  passed  ! 
There  was  not  a  cottage,  not  a  stone  wall,  not  a  fence  to 
break  the  monotony  of  the  long  undulations  of  moorland, 
which,  in  the  distance,  rose  into  a  series  of  hills  that  were 
black  under  the  darkened  sky.  Down  from  those  mountains, 
ages  ago,  glaciers  bad  slowly  crept  to  eat  out  hollows  in  the 
plains  below  ;  and  now,  in  those  hollows  were  lonely  lakes, 
with  not  a  tree  to  break  the  line  of  their  melancholy  shores. 
Everywhere  around  were  the  traces  of  the  glacier-drift — 
great  grey  boulders  of  gneiss  fixed  fast  into  the  black  peat- 
moss, or  set  amid  the  browns  and  greens  of  the  heather. 
The  only  sound  to  be  heard  in  this  wilderness  of  rock  and 
morass,  was  the  rushing  of  various  streams,  rain-swollen  and 
turbid,  that  plunged  down  their  narrow  channels  to  the  sea. 

The  rain  now  ceased  altogether  ;  but  the  mountains  in 
the  far  south  had  grown  still  darker  ;  and,  to  the  fisherman 
passing  by  the  coast,  it  must  have  seemed  as  though  the 
black  peaks  were  holding  converse  with  the  louring  clouds, 
and  that  the  silent  moorland  beneath  was  waiting  for  the 
first  roll  of  the  thunder.  The  man  who  was  driving  along 
the  lonely  route  sometimes  cast  a  glance  down  towards  this 
threatening  of  a  storm ;  but  he  paid  little  heed  to  it.  The 
reins  lay  loose  on  the  backs  of  the  horses  ;  and  at  their  own 
pace  they  followed,  hour  after  hour,  the  rising  and  falling 
road  that  led  through  the  moorland  and  past  the  gloomy 
lakes.  He  may  have  recalled  mechanically  the  names  of 
those  stretches  of  water — the  Lake  of  the  Sheiling,  the 
Lake  of  the  Oars,  the  Lake  of  the  Fine  Sand,  and  so  forth — • 

B  2 


4  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

to  measure  the  distance  he  had  traversed ;  but  he  seemed 
to  pay  little  attention  to  the  objects  around  him ;  and  it 
was  with  a  glance  of  something  like  surprise  that  he 
suddenly  found  himself  overlooking  that  great  sea-loch  on 
the  western  side  of  the  island  in  which  was  his  home. 

He  drove  down  the  hill  to  the  solitary  little  inn  of  Garra- 
na-hina.  At  the  door,  muffled  up  in  a  warm  woollen  plaid, 
stood  a  young  girl,  fair-haired,  blue-eyed,  and  diffident 
in  look. 

"  Mr.  Mackenzie,"  she  said,  with  that  peculiar  and  pleasant 
intonation  that  marks  the  speech  of  the  Hebridean  who  has 
been  taught  English  in  the  schools,  "  it  wass  Miss  Sheila 
wrote  to  me  to  Suainabost,  and  she  said  I  might  come  down 
again  from  Suainabost  and  see  if  I  can  be  of  any  help  to 
you  in  the  house." 

The  girl  was  crying,  although  the  blue  eyes  looked 
bravely  through  the  tears  as  if  to  disprove  the  fact. 

"  Ay,  my  good  lass,"  he  said,  putting  his  hand  gently  on 
her  head,  "  and  it  wass  Sheila  wrote  to  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  and  I  hef  come  down  from  Suainabost." 

"It  is  a  lonely  house  you  will  be  going  to,"  he  said, 
absently.  "  When  you  wass  staying  with  us  before,  there 
wass  some  one  in  the  house  that  you  would  be  talking 
with.  Now  it  will  be  ferry  different  for  you." 

"  But  Miss  Sheila  said  I  wass — I  wass  to — " — but  here 
the  young  girl  failed  in  her  effort  to  explain  that  Miss 
Sheila  had  asked  her  to  go  down  to  make  the  house  less 
lonely.  The  elderly  man  in  the  waggonette  seemed  scarcely 
to  notice  that  she  was  crying  ;  he  bade  her  come  up  beside 
him ;  and  when  he  had  got  her  into  the  waggonette,  he 
left  some  message  with  the  innkeeper,  who  had  come  to  the 
door,  and  drove  off  again. 

They  drove  along  the  high  land  that  overlooks  a  portion 
of  Loch  Roag,  with  its  wonderful  network  of  islands  and 
straits ;  and  then  they  stopped  on  the  lofty  plateau  of 
Callernish,  where  there  was  a  man  waiting  to  take  the 
waggonette  and  horses. 

"  And  you  would  be  seeing  Miss  Sheila  away,  sir  ? "  said 
the  man,  "  and  it  wass  Duncan  Macdonald  will  say  that  she 
will  not  come  back  no  more  to  Borva." 

The  old  man  with  the  big  grey  beard  only  frowned  and 


«  LOCHABER  NO  MORE  "  5 

passed  on.  He  and  the  girl  made  their  way  down  the  side 
of  the  rocky  hill  to  the  shore  ;  and  here  there  was  an  open 
boat  awaiting  them.  When  they  approached,  a  man  con- 
siderably over  six  feet  in  height,  keen-faced,  grey-eyed, 
straight-limbed,  and  sinewy  in  frame,  jumped  into  the  big 
and  rough  boat,  and  began  to  get  ready  for  their  departure. 
There  was  just  enough  wind  to  catch  the  brown  mainsail ; 
and  the  King  of  Borva  took  the  tiller,  his  henchman  sitting 
down  by  the  mast.  And  no  sooner  had  they  left  the  shore 
and  stood  out  towards  one  of  the  channels  of  this  arm  of 
the  sea,  than  the  tall,  spare  keeper  began  to  talk  of  that 
which  made  his  master's  eye  grow  dark. 

"  Ah,  well,"  he  said,  in  the  plaintive  drawling  of  his  race, 
"  and  it  iss  an  empty  house  you  will  be  going  to,  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  and  it  iss  a  bad  thing  for  us  all  that  Miss  Sheila 
hass  gone  away — '-and  it  iss  many's  ta  time  she  will  hef  been 
wis  me  in  this  very  boat " 

" you,  Duncan  Macdonald  !  "  cried  Mackenzie, 

in  an  access  of  fury,  "  what  will  you  talk  of  like  that  ?  It 
iss  every  man,  woman,  and  child  on  the  island  will  talk  of 
nothing  but  Sheila  !  I  will  drive  my  foot  through  the 
bottom  of  the  boat,  if  you  do  not  hold  your  peace  !  " 

The  tall  gillie  patiently  waited  until  his  master  had  ex- 
hausted his  passion,  and  then  he  said,  as  if  nothing  had 
occurred — 

"  And  it  will  not  do  much  good,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  to  tek  ta 
name  o'  Kott  in  vain — and  there  will  be  ferry  much  more 
of  that  now  since  Miss  Sheila  iss  gone  away,  and  there  will 
be  much  more  of  trinking  in  ta  island,  and  it  will  be  a 
great  difference,  mirover.  And  she  will  be  so  far  away 
that  no  one  will  see  her  no  more — far  away  beyond  ta 
Sound  of  Sleat,  and  far  away  beyond  Oban,  as  I  hef  heard 
people  say.  And  what  will  she  do  in  London,  when  she 
lias  no  boat  at  all,  and  she  will  never  go  out  to  ta  fishing, 
and  I  will  hear  people  say  that  you  will  walk  a  whole  day 
and  never  come  to  ta  sea,  and  what  will  Miss  Sheila  do  for  " 
that  ?  And  she  will  tame  no  more  o'  ta  wild  ducks'  young 
things,  and  she  will  find  out  no  more  o'  ta  nests  in  the 
rocks,  and  she  will  hef  no  more  horns  when  the  deer  is 
killed,  and  she  will  go  out  no  more  to  see  ta  cattle  swim 
across  Loch  Roag  when  they  go  to  ta  sheilings.  It  will  be 


6  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

all  different,  all  different  now ;  and  she  will  never  see  us 
no  more — and  it  iss  as  bad  as  if  you  wass  a  poor  man,  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  and  had  to  let  your  sons  and  your  daughters  go 
away  to  America,  and  never  come  back  no  more.  And  she 
ta  only  one  in  your  house,  and  it  wass  the  son  o'  Mr. 
Macintyre  of  Sutherland  he  would  hef  married  her,  and 
come  to  live  on  ta  island  ;  and  not  hef  Miss  Sheila  go  away 
among  strangers  that  do  not  know  her  family,  and  will  put 
no  store  by  her,  no  more  than  if  she  wass  a  fisherman's  lass. 
It  wass  MissJSheila  herself  had  a  sore  heart  tis  morning  when 
she  went  away — and  she  turned  and  she  looked  at  Borva  as 
the  boat  came  away — and  I  said  tis  is  the  last  time  Miss 
Sheila  will  be  in  her  boat,  and  she  will  not  come  no  more 
again  to  Borva." 

Mr.  Mackenzie  heard  not  one  word  or  syllable  of  all  this. 
The  dead,  passionless  look  had  fallen  over  the  powerful 
features  ;  and  the  deep-set  eyes  were  gazing,  not  on  the 
actual  Loch  Roag  before  them,  but  on  the  stormy  sea  that 
lies  between  Lewis  and  Skye,  and  on  a  vessel  disappearing 
in  the  mist  of  the  rain.  It  was  by  a  sort  of  instinct  that 
he  guided  this  open  boat  through  the  channels,  which  were 
now  getting  broader  as  they  neared  the  sea  ;  and  the  tall 
and  grave-faced  keeper  might  have  kept  up  his  garrulous 
talk  for  hours,  without  attracting  a  look  or  a  word. 

It  was  now  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  and  wild  and  strange, 
indeed,  was  the  scene  around  the  solitary  boat  as  it  slowly 
moved  along.  Large  islands — so  large  that  any  one  of  them 
might  have  been  mistaken  for  the  mainland — lay  over  the 
dark  waters  of  the  sea,  remote,  untenanted  and  silent. 
There  were  no  white  cottages  along  these  rocky  shores — 
only  a  succession  of  rugged  cliffs  and  sandy  bays  but  half 
mirrored  in  the  sombre  water  below.  Down  in  the  south 
the  mighty  shoulders  and  peaks  of  Suainabhal  and  his 
brother  mountains  were  still  darker  than  the  darkening 
sky  ;  and  when,  at  length,  the  boat  had  got  well  out  from 
the  network  of  islands,  and  fronted  the  broad  waters  of  the 
Atlantic,  the  great  plain  of  the  western  sea  seemed  already 
to  have  drawn  around  it  the  solemn  mantle  of  the  night. 

"  Will  ye  go  to  Borvabost,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  or  will  we 
run  her  into  your  own  house  ?  "  asked  Duncan — Borvabost 
being  the  name  of  the  chief  village  on  the  island. 


"  LOCHABER  NO  MORE  "  7 

"  I  will  not  go  on  to  Borvabost,"  said  the  old  man 
peevishly.  "Will  they  not  hef  plenty  to  talk  about  at 
Borvabost  ?  " 

"And  it  iss  no  harm  that  ta  folk  will  speak  of  Miss 
Sheila,"  said  the  gillie,  with  some  show  of  resentment,  "  it 
iss  no  harm,  they  will  be  sorry  she  is  gone  away — no  harm 
at  all — for  it  wass  many  things  they  had  to  thank  Miss 
Sheila  for — and  now  it  will  be  all  ferry  different " 

"  I  tell  you,  Duncan  Macdonald,  to  hold  your  peace ! " 
said  the  old  man,  with  a  savage  glare  of  the  deep-set  eyes, 
and  then  Duncan  relapsed  into  a  sulky  silence,  and  the 
boat  held  on  its  way. 

In  the  gathering  twilight  a  long  grey  curve  of  sand 
became  visible,  and  into  the  bay  thus  indicated,  Mackenzie 
turned  his  small  craft.  This  indentation  of  the  island 
seemed  as  blank  of  human  occupation  as  the  various  points 
and  bays  they  had  passed  ;  but  as  they  neared  the  shore  a 
house  came  into  sight,  about  half-way  up  the  slope  rising 
from  the  sea  to  the  pasture-land  above.  There  was  a  small 
stone  pier  jutting  out  at  one  portion  of  the  bay,  where  a 
mass  of  rocks  was  imbedded  in  the  white  sand  ;  and  here 
at  length  the  boat  was  run  in,  and  Mackenzie  helped  the 
young  girl  ashore. 

The  two  of  them — leaving  the  gillie  to  moor  the  little 
vessel  that  had  brought  them  from  Callernish — went  silently 
towards  the  shore,  and  up  the  narrow  road  leading  to  the 
house.  It  was  a  square,  two-storeyed  substantial  building 
of  stone  ;  but  the  stone  had  been  liberally  oiled  to  keep  out 
the  wet,  and  the  blackness  thus  produced  had  not  a  very 
cheerful  look.  Then,  on  this  particular  evening,  the  scant 
bushes  surrounding  the  house  hung  limp  and  dark  in  the 
rain  ;  and  amid  the  prevailing  hues  of  purple,  blue-green, 
and  blue,  the  bit  of  scarlet  coping  running  round  the  black 
walls  was  wholly  ineffective  in  relieving  the  general  im- 
pression of  dreariness  and  desolation. 

The  King  of  Borva  walked  into  a  large  room,  which  was 
but  partially  lit  by  two  candles  on  the  table,  and  by  the 
blaze  of  a  mass  of  peats  in  the  stone  fireplace,  and  threw 
himself  into  a  big  easy-chair.  Then  he  suddenly  seemed  to 
recollect  his  companion,  who  was  timidly  standing  near  the 
door  with  her  shawl  still  round  her  head. 


8  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Mairi,"  he  said,  "  go  and  ask  them  to  give  you  some 
dry  clothes.  Your  box  it  will  not  be  here  for  half-an-hour 

yet." 

Then  he  turned  to  the  fire. 

"But  you  yourself,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  you  will  be  ferry 
wet " 

"  Never  mind  me,  my  lass — go  and  get  yourself  dried." 

"  But  it  wass  Miss  Sheila,"  began  the  girl,  diffidently,  "  it 
wass  Miss  Sheila  asked  me — she  asked  me  to  look  after  you, 
sir " 

With  that  he  rose  abruptly,  and  advanced  to  her,  and 
caught  her  by  the  wrist.  He  spoke  quite  quietly  to  her, 
but  the  girl's  eyes,  looking  up  at  the  stern  face,  were  a  trifle 
frightened. 

"  You  are  a  ferry  good  little  girl,  Mairi,"  he  said,  slowly, 
"  and  you  will  mind  what  I  say  to  you.  You  will  do  what 
you  like  in  the  house — you  hef  been  in  the  house  before  and 
you  will  know  what  to  do — you  will  take  Sheila's  place  as 
much  as  you  like — but  you  will  mind  this,  not  to  mention 
her  name,  not  once.  Now  go  away,  Mairi,  and  find  Scarlett 
Macdonald,  and  she  will  give  you  some  dry  clothes ;  and 
you  will  tell  her  to  send  Duncan  down  to  Borvabost,  and 
bring  up  John  the  Piper,  and  Alister-nan-Each,  and  the  lads 
of  the  Nighean  dubh,  if  they  are  not  gone  home  to  Habost 
yet.  But  it  iss  John  the  Piper  must  come  directly." 

The  girl  went  away  to  seek  counsel  of  Scarlett  Macdonald, 
Duncan's  wife  ;  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  proceeded  to  walk  up 
and  down  the  big  and  half -lit  chamber.  Then  he  went  to 
a  cupboard,  and  put  out  on  the  table  a  number  of  tumblers 
and  glasses,  with  two  or  three  odd-looking  bottles  of 
Norwegian  make — consisting  of  four  semicircular  tubes  of 
glass  meeting  at  top  and  bottom,  leaving  the  centre  of  the 
vessel  thus  formed  open.  He  stirred  up  the  blazing  peats 
in  the  fireplace.  He  brought  down  from  a  shelf  a  tin  box 
filled  with  coarse  tobacco,  and  put  it  on  the  table.  But  he 
was  evidently  growing  impatient ;  and  at  last  he  put  on  his 
cap  again  and  went  out  into  the  night. 

The  air  blew  cold  in  from  the  sea,  and  whistled  through 
the  bushes  that  Sheila  had  trained  about  the  porch.  There 
was  no  rain  now,  but  a  great  and  heavy  darkness  brooded 
overhead  ;  and  in  the  silence  he  could  hear  the  breaking  of 


"LOCHABER  NO  MORE"  9 

the  waves  along  the  hard  coast.  But  what  was  this  other 
sound  he  heard — wild  and  strange  in  the  stillness  of  the 
night — a  shrill  and  plaintive  cry  that  the  distance  softened 
until  it  almost  seemed  to  be  the  calling  of  a  human  voice  ? 
Surely  those  were  words  that  he  heard,  or  was  it  only  that 
the  old.  sad  air  spoke  to  him  ? — 

"  For  Lochaber  no  more,  Lochaber  no  more, 
Maybe  to  return  to  Lochaber  no  more" 

• — that  was  the  message  that  came  to  him  out  of  the  dark- 
ness, and  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  the  sea,  and  the  night, 
and  the  sky  were  wailing  over  the  loss  of  his  Sheila.  He 
walked  away  from  the  house,  and  up  the  hill  behind.  Led 
by  the  sound  of  the  pipes,  that  grew  louder  and  more  un- 
earthly as  he  approached,  he  found  himself  at  length  on  a 
bit  of  high  tableland  overlooking  the  sea,  where  Sheila  had 
had  a  rude  bench  of  iron  and  wood  fixed  into  the  rock.  On 
this  bench  sat  a  little  old  man,  hump-backed  and  bent,  and 
with  long  white  hair  falling  down  to  his  shoulders.  He 
was  playing  the  pipes — not  wildly  and  fiercely  as  if  he 
were  at  a  drinking-bout  of  the  lads  come  home  from  the 
Caithness  fishing,  nor  yet  gaily  and  proudly  as  if  he  were 
marching  at  the  head  of  a  bridal  procession,  but  slowly, 
mournfully,  monotonously,  as  though  he  were  having  the 
pipes  talk  to  him. 

Mackenzie  touched  him  on  the  shoulder,  and  the  old  man 
started. 

"  Is  it  you,  Mr.  Mackenzie  ?  "  he  said,  in  Gaelic,  "  it  is  a 
great  fright  you  have  given  me." 

"  Come  down  to  the  house,  John.  The  lads  from  Habost, 
and  Alister,  and  some  more  will  be  coming  ;  and  you  will  get 
a  ferry  good  dram,  John,  to  put  wind  in  the  pipes." 

"  It  is  no  dram  I  am  thinking  of,  Mr.  Mackenzie,"  said 
the  old  man.  "And  you  will  have  plenty  of  company 
without  me.  But  I  will  come  down  to  the  house,  Mr. 
Mackenzie — oh,  yes.  I  will  come  down  to  the  house — but 
in  a  little  while  I  will  come  down  to  the  house." 

Mackenzie  turned  from  him  with  a  petulant  exclamation, 
and  went  along  and  down  the  hill  rapidly,  as  he  could  hear 
voices  in  the  darkness.  He  had  just  got  into  the  house, 
when  his  visitors  arrived.  The  door  of  the  room  was 


io  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

opened,  and  there  appeared  some  six  or  eight  tall  and 
stalwart  men,  mostly  with  profuse  brown  beards  and  weather- 
beaten  faces,  who  advanced  into  the  chamber  with  some 
show  of  shyness.  Mackenzie  offered  them  a  rough  and 
hearty  welcome ;  and,  as  soon  as  their  eyes  had  got  accus- 
tomed to  the  light,  bade  them  help  themselves  to  the 
whisky  on  the  table.  With  a  certain  solemnity  each  poured 
out  a  glass,  and  drank  "  Shlainte .'  "  to  his  host  as  if  it  were 
some  funeral  rite.  But  when  he  bade  them  replenish  their 
glasses,  and  got  them  seated  with  their  faces  to  the  blaze  of 
the  peats,  then  the  flood  of  Gaelic  broke  loose.  Had  the 
wise  little  girl  from  Suainabost  warned  those  big  men  ? 
There  was  not  a  word  about  Sheila  uttered.  All  their  talk 
was  of  the  reports  that  had  come  from  Caithness,  and  of  the 
improvements  of  the  small  harbour  near  the  Butt,  and  of 
the  black  sea-horse  that  had  been  seen  in  Loch  Suainabhal, 
and  of  some  more  sheep  having  been  found  dead  on  the 
Flannen  Isles,  shot  by  the  men  of  the  English  smacks. 
Pipes  were  lit,  the  peats  stirred  up  anew,  another  glass  or 
two  of  whisky  drunk,  and  then,  through  the  haze  of  the 
smoke,  the  browned  faces  of  the  men  could  be  seen  in 
eager  controversy,  each  talking  faster  than  the  other,  and 
comparing  facts  and  fancies  that  had  been  brooded  over 
through  solitary  nights  of  waiting  on  the  sea.  Mackenzie 
did  not  sit  down  with  them — he  did  not  even  join  them  in 
their  attention  to  the  curious  whisky-flasks.  He  paced  up 
and  down  the  opposite  side  of  the  room,  occasionally  being 
appealed  to  with  a  story  or  a  question,  and  showing  by  his 
answers  that  he  was  but  vaguely  hearing  the  vociferous  talk 
of  his  companions.  At  last  he  said — 

"  Why  the  teffle  does  not  John  the  Piper  come  ?  Here, 
you  men — you  sing  a  song — quick  !  None  of  your  funeral 
songs,  but  a  good  brisk  one  of  trinking-and  fighting  1 " 

But  were  not  nearly  all  their  songs — like  those  of  most 
dwellers  on  a  rocky  and  dangerous  coast — of  a  sad  and 
sombre  hue,  telling  of  maidens  whose  lovers  were  drowned, 
and  of  wives  bidding  farewell  to  husbands  they  were  never 
to  see  again  ?  Slow  and  mournful  are  the  songs  that  the 
northern  fishermen  sing  as  they  set  out  in  the  evening,  with 
the  creaking  of  their  long  oars  keeping  time  to  the  music, 
until  they  get  out  beyond  the  shore  to  hoist  the  red  main- 


"LOCHABER  NO  MORE"  11 

sail  and  catch  the  breeze  blowing  over  from  the  regions  of 
the  sunset.  Not  one  of  these  Habost  fishermen  could  sing 
a  brisk  song  ;  but  the  nearest  approach  to  it  was  a  ballad  in 
praise  of  a  dark-haired  girl,  which  they,  owning  the  Nighean 
dubh,  were  bound  to  know.  And  so  one  young  fellow  began 
to  sing — 

"  Mo  Nighean  dubh  d'f  has  boidheach  dubh, 
Mo  Nigheau.  dubh  na  treig  mi,"  * 

in  a  slow  and  doleful  fashion,  and  the  others  joined  in  the 
chorus  with  a  like  solemnity.  In  order  to  keep  time,  four 
of  the  men  followed  the  common  custom  of  taking  a  pocket 
handkerchief  (in  this  case,  an  immense  piece  of  brilliant 
red  silk,  which  was  evidently  the  pride  of  its  owner),  and 
holding  it  by  the  four  corners,  letting  it  slowly  rise  and  fall 
as  they  sang.  The  other  three  men  laid  hold  of  a  bit 
of  rope,  which  they  used  for  the  same  purpose.  "Mo 
Nighean  dubh"  unlike  most  of  the  Gaelic  songs,  has  but  a 
few  verses ;  and  as  soon  as  they  were  finished,  the  young 
fellow,  who  seemed  pleased  with  his  performances,  started 
another  ballad.  Perhaps  he  had  forgotten  his  host's  in- 
junction ;  perhaps  he  knew  no  merrier  song  ;  but,  at  any 
rate,  he  began  to  sing  the  "  Lament  of  Monaltrie."  It  was 
one  of  Sheila's  songs.  She  had  sung  it  the  night  before  in 
this  very  room ;  and  her  father  had  listened  to  her  de- 
scribing the  fate  of  young  Monaltrie  as  if  she  had  been 
foretelling  her  own,  and  scarcely  dared  to  ask  himself  if 
ever  again  he  should  hear  the  voice  that  he  loved  so  well. 
He  could  not  listen  to  the  song.  He  abruptly  left  the  room, 
and  went  out  once  more  into  the  cool  night  air  and  the 
darkness.  But  even  here  he  was  not  allowed  to  forget  the 
sorrow  he  had  been  vainly  endeavouring  to  banish  ;  for  in 
the  far  distance  the  pipes  still  played  the  melancholy  wail  of 
Lochaber.  "  Lochdber  no  more  !  Lochaber  no  more  !  "  that 
was  the  only  solace  brought  him  by  the  winds  from  the 
sea  ;  and  there  were  tears  running  down  the  hard  grey  face 
as  he  said  to  himself,  in  a  broken  voice — 

"  Sheila,  my  good  lass,  why  did  you  go  away  from  Borva  ?  " 

*  "  My  black-haired  girl,  my  pretty  girl,  my  black-haired  girl,  don't 
leave  me." — Niyliean  dubh  is  pronounced  Nyean  du. 


12  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER. 

"  WHY,  you  must  be  in  love  with  her  yourself  !  " 

"  I  in  love  with  her  ?  Sheila  and  I  are  too  old  friends 
for  that ! " 

The  speakers  were  two  young  men,  seated  in  the  stern  of 
the  steamer  Clansman,  as  she  ploughed  her  way  across  the 
blue  and  rushing  waters  of  the  Minch.  One  of  them  was  a 
tall  young  fellow  of  three-and-twenty,  with  fair  hair,  and 
light  blue  eyes,  whose  delicate  and  mobile  features  were 
handsome  enough  in  their  way,  and  gave  evidence  of  a 
nature  at  once  sensitive,  nervous,  and  impulsive.  He  was 
clad  in  light  grey  from  head  to  heel — a  colour  that  suited 
his  fair  complexion  and  yellow  hair  ;  and  he  lounged  about 
the  white  deck  in  the  glare  of  the  sunlight,  steadying 
himself  from  time  to  time,  as  an  unusually  big  wave  carried 
the  Clansman  aloft  for  a  second  or  two,  and  then  sent  her 
staggering  and  groaning  into  a  hissing  trough  of  foam. 
Now  and  again  he  would  pause  in  front  of  his  companion, 
and  talk  in  a  rapid,  playful,  and  even  eloquent  fashion  for 
a  minute  or  two  ;  and  then,  apparently  a  trifle  annoyed  by 
the  slow  and  patient  attention  which  greeted  his  oratorical 
efforts,  would  start  off  once  more  on  his  unsteady  journey 
up  and  down  the  white  planks. 

The  other  was  a  man  of  thirty-eight,  of  middle  height, 
sallow  complexion,  and  generally  insignificant  appearance. 
His  hair  was  becoming  prematurely  grey.  He  rarely  spoke. 
He  was  dressed  in  a  suit  of  rough  blue  cloth  ;  and,  indeed, 
looked  somewhat  like  a  pilot  who  had  gone  ashore,  taken  to 
study,  and  never  recovered  himself.  A  stranger  would  have 
noticed  the  tall  and  fair  young  man,  who  walked  up  and 
down  the  gleaming  deck,  evidently  enjoying  the  brisk 
breeze  that  blew  about  his  yellow  hair,  and  the  sunlight 
that  touched  his  pale  and  fine  face,  or  sparkled  on  his  teeth 
when  he  laughed ;  but  would  have  paid  little  attention  to 
the  smaller,  brown-faced,  brown-bearded,  grey-haired  man, 
who  lay  back  on  the  bench  with  his  two  hands  clasped 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  13 

round  his  knee,  and  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  southern 
heavens,  while  he  murmured  to  himself  the  lines  of  some 
ridiculous  old  Devonshire  ballad,  or  replied  in  monosyllables 
to  the  rapid  and  eager  talk  of  his  friend. 

Both  men  were  good  sailors,  and  they  had  need  to  be,  for, 
although  the  sky  above  them  was  as  blue  and  clear  as  the 
heart  of  a  sapphire,  and  although  the  sunlight  shone  on  the 
decks  and  the  rigging,  a  strong  north-easter  had  been  blowing 
all  the  morning,  and  there  was  a  considerable  sea  on.  The 
far  blue  plain  was  whitened  with  the  tumbling  crests  of  the 
waves,  that  shone  and  sparkled  in  the  sun  ;  and  ever  and 
anon  a  volume  of  water  would  strike  the  Clansman'' s  bow, 
rise  high  in  the  air  with  the  shock,  and  fall  in  heavy 
showers  over  the  forward  decks.  Sometimes,  too,  a  wave 
caught  her  broadside,  and  sent  a  handful  of  spray  over  the 
two  or  three  passengers  who  were  safe  in  the  stern  ;  but 
the  decks  here  remained  silvery  and  white,  for  the  sun  and 
wind  speedily  dried  up  the  traces  of  the  sea-showers. 

At  length  the  taller  of  the  young  men  came  and  sat  down 
by  his  companion. 

"  How  far  to  Stornoway,  yet  ?  " 

"  An  hour." 

"  By  Jove,  what  a  distance  !  All  day  yesterday  getting 
up  from  Oban  to  Skye,  all  last  night  churning  our  way  up 
to  Loch  Gair,  all  to-day  crossing  to  this  outlandish  island, 
that  seems  as  far  away  as  Iceland — and  for  what  ?  " 

"  But  don't  you  remember  the  moonlight  last  night,  as  we 
sailed  by  the  Cuchullins  ?  And  the  sunrise  this  morning  as 
we  lay  in  Loch  Gair  ?  Were  not  these  worth  coming  for  ?  " 

"  But  that  was  not  what  what  you  came  for,  my  dear  friend. 
No.  You  come  to  carry  off  this  wonderful  Miss  Sheila  of 
yours  ;  and  of  course  you  wanted  somebody  to  look  on  ;  and 
here  I  am,  ready  to  carry  the  ladder,  and  the  dark  lantern, 
and  the  marriage-licence.  I  will  saddle  your  steeds  for  you, 
and  row  you  over  lakes,  and  generally  do  anything  to  help 
you  in  so  romantic  an  enterprise." 

"  It  is  very  kind  of  you,  Lavender,"  said  the  other,  with  a 
smile  ;  "  but  such  adventures  are  not  for  old  fogies  like  me. 
They  are  the  exclusive  right  of  young  fellows  like  you,  who 
are  tall  and  well-favoured,  have  plenty  of  money  and  good 
spirits,  and  have  a  way  with  you  that  all  the  world  admires. 


14  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Of  course  the  bride  jWill  tread  a  measure  with  you.  Of 
course  all  the  bridesmaids  would  like  to  see  you  marry  her. 
And  of  course  she  will  taste  the  cup  you  offer  her.  Then 
a  word  in  her  ear — and  away  you  go  as  if  it  were  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world,  and  as  if  the  bridegroom  was  a 
despicable  creature  merely  because  God  had  only  given  him 
five  feet  six  inches.  But  you  couldn't  have  a  Lochinvar 
five  feet  six." 

The  younger  man  blushed  like  a  girl,  and  laughed  a  little, 
and  was  evidently  greatly  pleased.  Nay,  in  the  height  of  his 
generosity  he  began  to  protest.  He  would  not  have  his  friend 
imagine  that  women  cared  only  for  stature  and  good  looks. 
There  were  other  qualities.  He  himself  had  observed  the 
most  singular  conquests  made  by  men  who  were  not  good- 
looking,  but  who  had  a  certain  fascination  about  them. 
His  own  experience  of  women  was  considerable,  and  he  was 
quite  certain  that  the  best  women,  now — the  sort  of  women 
whom  a  man  would  respect — the  women  who  had  brains — 

And  so  forth,  and  so  forth.  The  other  listened  quite 
gravely  to  these  well-meant,  kindly,  blundering  explanations  ; 
and  only  one  who  watched  his  face  narrowly  could  have 
detected,  in  the  brown  eyes,  a  sort  of  amused  consciousness 
of  the  intention  of  the  amiable  and  ingenuous  youth. 

"  Do  you  really  mean  to  tell  me,  Ingram,"  continued  Lav- 
ender, in  his  rapid  and  impetuous  way, "  do  you  mean  to 
tell  me  that  you  are  not  in  love  with  this  Highland  princess  ? 
For  ages  back  you  have  talked  of  nothing  but  Sheila.  How 
many  an  hour  have  I  spent  in  clubs,  up  the  river,  down  at 
the  coast,  everywhere,  listening  to  your  stories  of  Sheila, 
and  your  praises  of  Sheila,  and  your  descriptions  of  Sheila. 
It  was  always  Sheila,  and  again  Sheila,  and  still  again 
Sheila.  But,  do  you  know,  either  you  exaggerated,  or  I 
failed  to  understand  your  descriptions  ;  for  the  Sheila  I 
came  to  construct  out  of  your  talk  is  a  most  incongruous 
and  incomprehensible  creature.  First,  Sheila  knows  about 
stone  and  lime  and  building  ;  and  then  I  suppose  her  to  be 
a  practical  young  woman,  who  is  a  sort  of  overseer  to  her 
father.  But  Sheila,  again,  is  romantic  and  mysterious,  and 
believes  in  visions  and  dreams  ;  and  then  I  take  her  to  be 
an  affected  school-miss.  But  then  Sheila  can  throw  a  fly 
and  play  her  sixteen-pounder,  and  Sheila  can  adventure 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  15 

upon  the  lochs  in  an  open  boat,  managing  the  sail  herself ; 
and  then  I  find  her  to  be  a  torn-boy.  Again,  however, 
Sheila  is  shy  and  rarely  speaks,  but  looks  unutterable  things 
with  her  soft  and  magnificent  eyes ;  and  what  does  that 
mean,  but  that  she  is  an  ordinary  young  lady,  who  has  not 
been  in  society,  and  who  is  a  little  interesting,  if  a  little 
stupid,  while  she  is  unmarried,  and  who,  after  marriage, 
calmly  and  complacently  sinks  into  the  dull  domestic  hind, 
whose  only  thought  is  of  butcher's  bills  and  perambulators." 
This  was  a  fairly  long  speech  ;  but  it  was  no  longer  than 
many  which  Frank  Lavender  was  accustomed  to  utter  when 
in  the  vein  for  talking.  His  friend  and  companion  did  not 
pay  much  heed.  His  hands  were  still  clasped  round  his 
knee,  his  head  leaning  back  ;  and  all  the  answer  he  made 
was  to  repeat — apparently  to  himself — these  not  very 
pertinent  lines — 

"In  Ockington,  in  Devonsheer, 
My  vather  he  lived  vor  many  a  yeer ; 
And  I,  his  son,  with  him  did  dwell, 
To  tend  his  sheep :  'twas  doleful  well. 

Diddle-diddle  ! " 

"  You  know,  Ingram,  it  must  be  precious  hard  for  a  man 
who  has  to  knock  about  in  society,  and  take  his  wife  with 
him,  to  have  to  explain  to  everybody  that  she  is  in  reality  a 
most  unusual  and  gifted  young  person,  and  that  she  must 
not  be  expected  to  talk.  It  is  all  very  well  for  him  in  his 
own  house — that  is  to  say,  if  he  can  preserve  all  the  senti- 
ment that  made  her  shyness  fine  and  wonderful  before  their 
marriage  ;  but  a  man  owes  a  little  to  society,  even  in 
choosing  a  wife." 

Another  pause — 

"It  happened  on  a  zartin  day, 
Four  score  o'  the  sheep  they  rinned  astray, 
Says  vather  to  I,  'Jack,  rin  arter  'm,  du!' 
Sez  I  to  vather,  '  I'm  darned  if  I  do ! ' 

Diddle-diddle ! " 

"  Now  you  are  the  sort  of  man,  I  should  think,  who 
would  never  get  careless  about  your  wife.  You  would 
always  believe  about  her  what  you  believed  at  first  ;  and  I 
daresay  you  would  live  very  happily  in  your  own  house  if 
she  was  a  decent  sort  of  woman.  But  you  would  have  to  go 


1 6  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

out  into  society  sometimes  ;  and  the  very  fact  that  you  had 
not  got  careless — as  many  men  would,  leaving  their  wives 
to  produce  any  sort  of  impression  they  might — would  make 
you  vexed  that  the  world  could  not  off-hand  value  your  wife 
as  you  fancy  she  ought  to  be  valued.  Don't  you  see  ?  " 
This  was  the  answer — • 

"  Purvoket  much  at  my  rude  tongue, 
A  dish  o'  brath  at  me  he  vlung, 
"Which  so  incensed  me  to  wrath. 
That  I  up  an1  knack  un  instantly  to  arth. 

Diddle-diddle ! " 

"  As  for  your  Princess  Sheila,  I  firmly  believe  you  have 
some  romantic  notion  of  marrying  her,  and  taking  her  up 
to  London  with  you.  If  you  seriously  intend  such  a  thing, 
I  shall  not  argue  with  you.  I  shall  praise  her  by  the  hour 
together  ;  for  I  may  have  to  depend  on  Mrs.  Edward 
Ingram  for  my  admission  to  your  house.  But  if  you  only 
have  the  fancy  as  a  fancy,  consider  what  the  result  would 
be.  You  say  she  has  never  been  to  a  school — that  she  has 
never  had  the  companionship  of  a  girl  of  her  own  age — 
that  she  has  never  read  a  newspaper — that  she  has  never 
been  out  of  this  island — and  that  almost  her  sole  society 
has  been  that  of  her  mother,  who  educated  her,  and  tended 
her,  and  left  her  as  ignorant  of  the  real  world  as  if  she  had 
lived  all  her  life  in  a  lighthouse.  Goodness  gracious  !  what 
a  figure  such  a  girl  would  cut  in  South  Kensington " 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  said  Ingram,  at  last,  "  don't  be  absurd. 
You  will  soon  see  what  are  the  relations  between  Sheila 
Mackenzie  and  me,  and  you  will  be  satisfied.  I  marry  her  ? 
Do  you  think  I  would  take  the  child  to  London  to  show 
her  its  extravagance  and  shallow  society,  and  break  her 
heart  with  thinking  of  the  sea,  and  of  the  rude  islanders 
she  knew,  and  of  their  hard  and  bitter  struggle  for  life  ? 
No.  I  should  not  like  to  see  my  wild  Highland  doe  shut  up 
in  one  of  your  southern  parks,  among  your  tame  fallow  deer. 
She  would  look  at  them  askance.  She  would  separate 
herself  from  them  ;  and  by-and-by  she  would  make  one 
wild  effort  to  escape — and  kill  herself.  That  is  not  the  fate 
in  store  for  our  good  little  Sheila  ;  so  you  need  not  make 
yourself  unhappy  about  her  or  me. 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  17 

Now  all  ye  young  men,  of  every  persuasion, 
Never  quarl  wi'  your  vather  upon  any  occasion; 
For  instead  o*  being  better,  you'll  vind  you'll  be  wuss, 
For  he'll  kick  you  out  o'  doors,  without  a  varden  in  your  puss ; 

Diddle-diddle ! 

Talking  of  Devonshire,  how  is  that  young  American  lady 
you  met  at  Torquay  in  the  spring  ?  " 

"  There,  now,  is  the  sort  of  woman  a  man  would  be  safe 
in  marrying." 

"  And  how  ?  " 

"  Oh,  well,  you  know,"  said  Frank  Lavender,  "  I  mean 
the  sort  of  woman  who  would  do  you  credit — hold  her  own 
in  society,  and  that  sort  of  thing.  You  must  meet  her  some 
day.  I  tell  you,  Ingram,  you  would  be  delighted  and 
charmed  with  her  manners,  and  her  grace,  and  the  clever 
things  she  says — at  least,  everybody  else  is." 

"  Ah,  well." 

"  You  don't  seem  to  care  much  for  brilliant  women," 
remarked  the  other,  rather  disappointed  that  his  companion 
showed  so  little  interest. 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  like  brilliant  women  very  well.  A  clever 
woman  is  always  a  pleasanter  companion  than  a  clever  man. 
But  you  were  talking  of  the  choice  of  a  wife ;  and  pert- 
ness  in  a  girl,  although  it  may  be  amusing  at  the  time, 
may  possibly  become  something  else  by-and-by.  Indeed,  1 
shouldn't  advise  a  young  man  to  marry  an  epigrammatist  : 
for  you  see  her  shrewdness  and  smartness  are  generally  the 
result  of  experiences  in  which  he  has  had  no  share." 

"  There  may  be  something  in  that,"  said  Lavender,  care- 
lessly ;  "  but  of  course,  you  know,  with  a  widow  it  is 
different — and  Mrs.  Lorraine  never  does  go  in  for  the 
ingenue" 

The  pale  blue  cloud  that  had  for  some  time  been  lying 
faintly  along  the  horizon  now  came  nearer  and  more  near, 
until  they  could  pick  out  something  like  the  configuration 
of  the  island,  its  bays,  and  promontories,  and  mountains. 
The  day  seemed  to  become  warmer  as  they  got  out  of  the 
driving  wind  of  the  Minch,  and  the  heavy  roll  of  the  sea  had 
so  far  subsided.  Through  comparatively  calm  water  the 
great  Clansman  drove  her  way,  until,  on  getting  near  the 
land,  and  under  shelter  of  the  Peninsula  of  Eye,  the 

c 


1 8  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

voyagers  found  themselves  on  a  beautiful  blue  plain,  with 
the  spacious  harbour  of  Stornoway  opening  out  before  them. 
There,  on  the  one  side,  lay  a  white  and  cleanly  town,  with 
its  shops,  and  quays,  and  shipping.  Above  the  bay  in  front 
stood  a  great  grey  castle,  surrounded  by  pleasure-grounds, 
and  terraces,  and  gardens  ;  while,  on  the  southern  side,  the 
harbour  was  overlooked  by  a  semicircle  of  hills,  planted  with 
every  variety  of  tree.  The  white  houses,  the  blue  bay,  and 
the  large  grey  building  set  amid  green  terraces  and  over- 
looked by  wooded  hills,  formed  a  bright  and  lively  little 
picture  on  this  fresh  and  brilliant  forenoon  ;  and  young- 
Lavender,  who  had  a  quick  eye  for  compositions,  which  he 
was  always  about  to  undertake,  but  which  never  appeared 
on  canvas,  declared  enthusiastically  that  he  would  spend  a 
day  or  two  in  Stornoway  on  his  return  from  Borva,  and 
take  home  with  him  some  sketch  of  the  place. 

"  And  is  Miss  Sheila  on  the  quay  yonder  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Not  likely,"  said  Ingram.  "It  is  a  long  drive  across 
the  island  ;  and  I  suppose  she  would  remain  at  home  to  look 
after  our  dinner  in  the  evening." 

"  What  ?  The  wonderful  Sheila  look  after  our  dinner  ? 
Has  she  visions  among  the  pots  and  pans,  and  does  she  look 
unutterable  things  when  she  is  peeling  potatoes  ?  " 

Ingram  laughed. 

"There  will  be  a  pretty  alteration  in  your  tune,  in  a 
couple  of  days.  You  are  sure  to  fall  in  love  with  her,  and 
sigh  desperately,  for  a  week  or  two.  You  always  do,  when 
you  meet  a  woman  anywhere.  But  it  won't  hurt  you  much, 
and  she  won't  know  anything  about  it." 

"  I  should  rather  like  to  fall  in  love  with  her,  to  see  how 

furiously  jealous  you  would  become However,  here  we 

are." 

"And  there  is  Mackenzie — the  man  with  the  big  grey 
beard  and  the  peaked  cap — and  he  is  talking  to  the 
Chamberlain  of  the  Island." 

"  What  does  he  get  up  on  his  waggonette  for,  instead  of 
coming  on  board  to  meet  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  that  is  one  of  his  little  tricks,"  said  Ingram,  with  a 
good-humoured  smile.  "  He  means  to  receive  us  in  state, 
and  impress  you,  a  stranger,  with  his  dignity.  The  good 
old  fellow  has  a  hundred  harmless  ways  like  that ;  and  you 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  19 

must  humour  him.     He  has  been  accustomed  to  be  treated 
en  roi,  you  know." 

"  Then  the  papa  of  the  mysterious  princess  is  not  perfect  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  I  ought  to  tell  you  now  that  Mackenzie's 
oddest  notion  is  that  he  has  a  wonderful  skill  in  managing 
men,  and  in  concealing  the  manner  of  his  doing  it.  I  tell 
you  this  that  you  mayn't  laugh,  and  hurt  him,  when  he  is 
attempting  something  that  he  considers  particularly  crafty, 
and  that  a  child  could  see  through." 

"But  what  is  the  aim  of  it  all  ?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing." 

"  He  does  not  do  a  little  bet  occasionally  ?  " 

"  Oh,  dear,  no.  He  is  the  best  and  honestest  fellow  in 
the  world ;  but  it  pleases  him  to  fancy  that  he  is  pro- 
foundly astute,  and  that  other  people  don't  see  the  artfulness 
with  which  he  reaches  some  little  result  that  is  not  of  the 
least  consequence  to  anybody." 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  remarked  Mr.  Lavender,  with  a  cool- 
ness and  a  shrewdness  that  rather  surprised  his  companion, 
"  that  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  get  the  King  of  Borva  to 
assume  the  honours  of  a  papa-in-law." 

The  steamer  was  moored  at  last ;  the  crowd  of  fishermen 
and  loungers  drew  near  to  meet  their  friends  who  had  come 
up  from  Glasgow — for  there  are  few  strangers,  as  a  rule, 
arriving  at  Stornoway  to  whet  the  curiosity  of  the  islanders 
— and  the  tall  gillie  who  had  been  standing  by  Mackenzie's 
horses  came  on  board  to  get  the  luggage  of  the  young  men. 

"  Well,  Duncan,"  said  the  elder  of  them,  "  and  how  are 
you,  and  how  is  Mr.  Mackenzie,  and  how  is  Miss  Sheila  ? 
You  haven't  brought  her  with  you,  I  see." 

"  But  Miss  Sheila  is  ferry  well,  whatever,  Mr.  Ingram, 
and  it  is  a  great  day,  this  day,  for  her  tat  you  will  be 
coming  to  the  Lewis,  and  it  wass  tis  morning  she  wass  up  at 
ta  break  o'  day,  and  up  ta  hills  to  get  some  bits  o'  green 
things  for  ta  rooms  you  will  hef,  Mr.  Ingram.  Ay,  it  iss 
a  great  day,  tis  day,  for  Miss  Sheila." 

"  By  Jove,  they  all  rave  about  Sheila  up  in  this  quarter," 
said  Lavender,  giving  Duncan  a  fishing-rod  and  a  bag  he 
had  brought  from  the  cabin.  "  I  suppose  in  a  week's  time 
I  shall  begin  to  rave  about  her  too.  Look  sharp,  Ingram, 
and  let  us  have  audience  of  his  Majesty." 

c  2 


20  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

The  King  of  Borva  fixed  his  eyes  on  young  Lavender, 
and  scanned  him  narrowly,  as  he  was  being  introduced. 
His  welcome  of  Ingram  had  been  most  gracious  and 
friendly  ;  but  he  received  his  companion  with  something  of 
a  severe  politeness.  He  requested  him  to  take  a  seat  beside 
him,  so  that  he  might  see  the  country  as  they  went  across 
to  Borva  ;  and  Lavender  having  done  so,  Ingram  and 
Duncan  got  into  the  body  of  the  waggonette,  and  the  party 
drove  off. 

Passing  through  the  clean  and  bright  little  town,  Mac- 
kenzie suddenly  pulled  up  his  horses  in  front  of  a  small 
shop,  in  the  window  of  which  some  cheap  bits  of  jewellery 
were  visible.  The  man  came  out ;  and  Mr.  Mackenzie 
explained,  with  some  care  and  precision,  that  he  wanted  a 
silver  brooch  of  a  particular  sort.  While  the  jeweller  had 
returned  to  seek  the  article  in  question,  Frank  Lavender 
was  gazing  around  him  in  some  wonder  at  the  appearance 
of  so  much  civilization  on  this  remote  and  rarely-visited 
island.  Here  were  no  haggard  savages,  unkempt  and 
scantily  clad,  coming  forth  from  their  dens  in  the  rocks  to 
stare  wildly  at  the  strangers.  On  the  contrary,  there  was  a 
prevailing  air  of  comfort  and  "  bienness  "  about  the  people 
and  their  houses.  He  saw  handsome  girls,  with  coal-black 
hair  and  fresh  complexions,  who  wore  short  and  thick  blue 
petticoats,  with  a  scarlet  tartan  shawl  wrapped  round  their 
bosom  and  fastened  at  the  waist ;  stalwart,  thick-set  men, 
in  loose  blue  jacket  and  trowsers,  and  scarlet  cap,  many  of 
them  with  bushy  red  beards  ;  and  women  of  extraordinary 
breadth  of  shoulder,  who  carried  enownous  loads  in  a  creel 
strapped  on  their  back,  while  they  employed  their  hands  in 
contentedly  knitting  stockings  as  they  passed  along.  But 
what  was  the  purpose  of  these  mighty  loads  of  fish-bones 
they  carried — burdens  that  would  have  appalled  a  railway 
porter  of  the  South  ? 

"  You  will  see,  sir,"  observed  the  King  of  Borva,  in  reply 
to  Lavender's  question,  "  there  iss  not  much  of  the  phos- 
phates in  the  grass  of  this  island ;  and  the  cows  they  are 
mad  to  get  the  fish-bones  to  lick,  and  it  iss  many  of  them 
you  cannot  mil  k,  unless  you  put  the  bones  before  them." 

"  But  why  do  the  lazy  fellows  lounging  about  there  let 
the  women  carry  those  enormous  loads  ?  " 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  21 

Mr.  Mackenzie  stared. 

"  Lazy  fellows  ?  They  hef  harder  work  than  any  you 
will  know  of  in  your  country  ;  and,  besides  the  fishing,  they 
will  do  the  ploughing,  and  much  of  the  farm-work.  And  iss 
the  women  to  do  none  at  all  ?  That  iss  the  nonsense  that 
my  daughter  talks ;  but  she  has  got  it  out  of  books,  and 
what  do  they  know  how  the  poor  people  hef  to  live  ?  " 

At  this  moment  the  jeweller  returned,  with  some  half- 
dozen  brooches  displayed  on  a  plate,  and  shining  with  all 
the  brilliancy  of  cairn-gorm  stones,  polished  silver,  and 
variously-coloured  pebbles. 

"Now,  John  Mackintyre,  this  is  a  gentleman  from 
London,"  said  Mackenzie,  regarding  the  jeweller  sternly, 
"  and  he  will  know  all  about  such  fine  things,  and  you  will 
not  put  a  big  price  on  them." 

It  was  now  Lavender's  turn  to  stare  ;  but  he  good- 
naturedly  accepted  the  duties  of  referee,  and  eventually  a 
brooch  was  selected  and  paid  for,  the  price  being  six 
shillings.  Then  they  drove  on  again. 

"  Sheila  will  know  nothing  of  this — it  will  be  a  great 
surprise  for  her,"  said  Mackenzie,  almost  to  himself,  as  he 
opened  the  small  box,  and  saw  the  glaring  piece  of  jewellery 
lying  on  the  white  cotton. 

"  Good  heavens,  sir  !  "  cried  Frank  Lavender,  "  you  don't 
mean  to  say  you  bought  that  brooch  for  your  daughter  ?  " 

"  And  why  not  ?  "  said  the  King  of  Borva,  in  great 
surprise. 

The  young  man  perceived  his  mistake,  grew  considerably 
confused,  and  only  said — 

"  Well,  I  should  have  thought  that — that  some  small  piece 
of  gold  jewellery,  now,  would  be  better  suited  for  a  young 
lady." 

Mackenzie  smiled  shrewdly. 

"  I  had  something  to  go  on.  It  wass  Sheila  herself  was  in 
Stornoway  three  weeks  ago,  and  she  wass  wanting  to  buy  a 
brooch  for  a  young  girl  who  has  come  down  to  us  from  Suaina- 
bost,  and  is  very  useful  in  the  kitchen,  and  it  wass  a  brooch 
just  like  this  one  she  gave  to  her." 

"Yes,  to  a  kitchenmaid,"  said  the  young  man,  meekly. 

"  But  Mairi  is  Sheila's  cousin,"  said  Mackenzie,  with  con- 
tinued surprise. 


22  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Lavender  does  not  understand  Highland  ways  yet,  Mr. 
Mackenzie,"  said  Ingram,  from  behind.  "  You  know  we  in 
the  South  have  different  fashions.  Our  servants  are  nearly 
always  strangers  to  us — not  relations  and  companions." 

"  Oh,  I  hef  peen  in  London  myself,"  said  Mackenzie,  in 
somewhat  of  an  injured  tone ;  and  then  he  added,  with  a 
touch  of  self-satisfaction,  "  and  I  hef  been  in  Paris  too." 

"  And  Miss  Sheila,  has  she  been  in  London  ?  "  asked 
Lavender,  feigning  ignorance. 

"  She  has  never  been  out  of  the  Lewis." 

"  But  don't  you  think  the  education  of  a  young  lady 
should  include  some  little  experience  of  travelling  ?  " 

"  Sheila,  she  will  be  educated  quite  enough  ;  and  is  she 
going  to  London  or  Paris  without  me  ?  " 

"  You  might  take  her." 

"  I  have  too  much  to  do  on  the  island  now  ;  and  Sheila 
has  much  to  do  ;  I  do  not  think  she  will  ever  see  any  of 
those  places,  and  she  will  not  be  much  the  worse." 

Two  young  men  off  for  their  holidays — a  brilliant  day 
shining  all  around  them — the  sweet  air  of  the  sea  and  the 
moorland  blowing  about  them :  this  little  party  that  now 
drove  away  from  Stornoway  ought  to  have  been  in  the  best 
of  spirits.  And,  indeed,  the  young  fellow  who  sat  beside 
Mackenzie  was  bent  on  pleasing  his  host,  by  praising  every- 
thing he  saw.  He  praised  the  gallant  little  horses  that  whirled 
them  past  the  plantations  and  out  into  the  open  country. 
He  praised  the  rich  black. peat  that  was  visible  in  long  lines 
and  heaps,  where  the  townspeople  were  slowly  eating  into  the 
moorland.  Then  all  these  traces  of  occupation  were  left  be- 
hind, and  the  travellers  were  alone  in  the  untenanted  heart 
of  the  island,  where  the  only  sounds  audible  were  the  humming 
of  insects  in  the  sunlight,  and  the  falling  of  streams.  Away 
in  the  south  the  mountains  were  of  a  silvery  and  transparent 
blue.  Nearer  at  hand  the  rich  reds  and  browns  of  the  moor- 
land softened  into  a  tender  and  beautiful  green  on  neariug 
the  margins  of  the  lakes  ;  and  these  stretches  of  water  were 
now  as  fair  and  bright  as  the  sky  above  them,  and  were 
scarcely  ruffled  by  the  moor-fowl  moving  out  from  the  green 
rushes.  Still  nearer  at  hand,  great  masses  of  white  rock  lay 
embedded  in  the  soft  soil ;  and  what  could  have  harmonised 
better  with  the  rough  and  silver-grey  surface  than  the 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  23 

patches  of  rose-red  bell-heather  that  grew  up  in  their  clefts, 
or  hung  over  their  summits  ?  The  various  and  beautiful 
colours  around  seemed  to  tingle  with  light  and  warmth  as 
the  clear  sun  shone  on  them,  and  the  keen  mountain  air 
blew  over  them  ;  and  the  King  of  Borva  was  so  far  thawed 
by  the  enthusiasm  of  his  companions,  that  he  regarded  the 
far  country  with  a  pleased  smile,  as  if  the  enchanted  land 
belonged  to  him,  and  as  if  the  wonderful  colours,  and  the 
exhilarating  air,  and  the  sweet  perfumes,  were  of  his  own 
creation. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  did  not  know  much  about  tints  and  hues  ; 
but  he  believed  what  he  heard ;  and  it  was  perhaps,  after 
all,  not  very  surprising  that  a  gentleman  from  London,  who 
had  skill  of  pictures  and  other  delicate  matters,  should  find 
s;range  marvels  in  a  common  stretch  of  moor,  with  a  few 
takes  here  and  there,  and  some  lines  of  mountains  only  good 
for  shielings.  It  was  not  for  him  to  check  the  raptures  of 
his  guest.  He  began  to  be  friendly  with  the  young  man  ; 
and  could  not  help  regarding  him  as  a  more  cheerful  com- 
panion than  his  neighbour  Ingram,  who  would  sit  by  your 
side  for  an  hour  at  a  time,  without  breaking  the  monotony 
of  the  horses'  tramp  with  a  single  remark.  He  had  formed 
a  poor  opinion  of  Lavender's  physique,  from  the  first  glimpse 
he  had  of  his  white  fingers  and  girl-like  complexion ;  but 
surely  a  man  who  had  such  a  vast  amount  of  good  spirits, 
and  such  a  rapidity  of  utterance,  must  have  something  cor- 
responding to  these  qualities  in  substantial  bone  and  muscle. 
There  was  something  pleasing  and  ingenuous,  too,  about  this 
flow  of  talk.  Men  who  had  arrived  at  years  of  wisdom,  and 
knew  how  to  study  and  use  their  fellows,  were  not  to  be  led 
into  these  betrayals  of  their  secret  opinions ;  but  for  a 
young  man — what  could  be  more  pleasing  than  to  see  him 
lay  open  his  soul  to  the  observant  eye  of  a  master  of  men  ? 
^Mackenzie  began  to  take  a  great  fancy  to  young  Lavender. 

"  Why,"  said  Lavender,  with  a  fine  colour  mantling  in 
his  cheeks,  as  the  wind  caught  them  on  a  higher  portion  of 
the  road,  "  I  had  heard  of  Lewis  as  a  most  bleak  and  deso- 
late island — flat  moorland  and  lake — without  a  hill  to  be 
seen.  And  everywhere  I  see  hills ;  and  yonder  are  great 
mountains,  which  I  hope  to  get  nearer  before  we  leave." 

"  "We  have  mountains  in  this  island,"  remarked  Mackenzie, 


24  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

slowly,  as  he  kept  his  eye  on  his  companion,  "  we  have 
mountains  in  this  island  sixteen  thousand  feet  high." 

Lavender  looked  sufficiently  astonished  ;  and  the  old  man 
was  pleased.  He  paused  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  said — 

"  But  this  iss  the  way  of  it :  you  will  see  that  the  middle 
of  the  mountains  it  has  all  been  washed  away  by  the  weather, 
and  you  will  only  have  the  sides  now  dipping  one  way  and 
the  other  at  each  side  o'  the  island.  But  it  iss  a  very  clever 
man  in  Stornoway  will  tell  me  that  you  can  make  out  whab 
wass  the  height  o'  the  mountain,  by  watching  the  dipping 
of  the  rocks  on  each  side  ;  and  it  iss  an  older  country,  this 
island,  than  any  you  will  know  of,  and  there  were  tho 
mountains  sixteen  thousand  feet  high  long  before  all  this 
country,  and  all  Scotland  and  England,  wass  covered  with 
ice." 

The  young  man  was  very  desirous  to  show  his  interest  in 
this  matter  ;  but  did  not  know  very  well  how.  At  last,  he 
ventured  to  ask  whether  there  were  any  fossils  in  the  blocks 
of  gneiss  that  were  scattered  over  the  moorland. 

"  Fossils  ?  "  said  Mackenzie.  "  Oh,  I  will  not  care  much 
about  such  small  things.  If  you  will  ask  Sheila,  she  will 
tell  you  all  about  it,  and  about  the  small  things  she  finds 
growing  on  the  hills.  That  iss  not  of  much  consequence  to 
me ;  but  I  will  tell  you  what  is  the  best  thing  the  island 
grows — it  is  good  girls  and  strong  men — men  that  can  go 
to  the  fishing,  and  come  back  to  plough  the  fields,  and  cut 
the  peat,  and  build  the  houses,  and  leave  the  women  to  look 
after  the  fields  and  the  gardens  when  they  go  back  again  to 
the  fisheries.  But  it  is  the  old  people — they  are  ferry 
cunning,  and  they  will  not  put  their  money  in  the  bank  at 
Stornoway,  but  will  hide  it  away  about  the  house,  and  then 
they  will  come  to  Sheila  and  ask  for  money  to  put  a  pane 
of  glass  in  their  house.  And  she  has  promised  that  to 
everyone  who  will  make  a  window  in  the  wall  of  their 
house ;  and  she  is  very  simple  with  them,  and  does  not 
understand  the  old  people  that  tell  lies.  But  when  I  hear  of  it, 
I  say  nothing  to  Sheila — she  will  know  nothing  about  it — 
but  I  hef  a  watch  put  upon  the  people,  and  it  wass  only 
yesterday  I  will  take  back  two  shillings  she  gave  to  an  old 
woman  of  Borvabost,  that  told  many  lies.  What  does  a 
young  thing  know  of  these  old  people  ?  She  will  know 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  15 

nothing  at  all,  and  it  iss  better  for  some  one  else  to  look 
after  them,  but  not  to  speak  one  word  of  it  to  her." 

"  It  must  require  great  astuteness  to  manage  a  primitive 
people  like  that,"  said  young  Lavender  with  an  air  of  con- 
viction ;  and  the  old  man  eagerly  and  proudly  assented,  and 
went  on  to  tell  of  the  manifold  diplomatic  aits  he  used  in 
reigning  over  his  small  kingdom,  and  how  his  subjects  lived 
in  blissful  ignorance  that  this  controlling  power  was  being 
exercised. 

They  were  startled  by  an  exclamation  from  Ingram,  who 
called  to  Mackenzie  to  pull  up  the  horses,  just  as  they  were 
passing  over  a  small  bridge. 

"  Look  there,  Lavender,  did  you  ever  see  salmon  jumping 
like  that  ?  Look  at  the  size  of  them  !  " 

"  Oh,  it  iss  nothing,"  said  Mackenzie,  driving  on  again  ; 
"  where  you  will  see  the  salmon,  it  is  in  the  Narrows  of 
Loch  Roag,  when  they  come  into  the  rivers,  and  the  tide  is 
low.  Then  you  will  see  them  jumping  ;  and  if  the  water 
wass  too  low  for  a  long  time,  they  will  die  in  hundreds  and 
hundreds." 

"  But  what  makes  them  jump  before  they  get  into  the 
rivers  !  " 

Old  Mackenzie  smiled  a  crafty  smile,  as  if  he  had  found 
out  all  the  ways  and  the  secrets  of  the  salmon. 

"  They  will  jump  to  look  about  them — that  iss  all." 

"  Do  you  think  a  salmon  can  see  where  he  is  going  ?  " 

"  And  maybe  you  will  explain  this  to  me,  then,"  said  the 
King,  with  a  compassionate  air ;  "  how  iss  it  the  salmon 
will  try  to  jump  over  some  stones  in  the  river,  and  he  will 
see  he  cannot  go  over  them  ;  but  does  he  fall  straight  down 
on  the  stones  and  kill  himself  ?  Neffer — no,  neffer.  He 
will  get  back  to  the  pool  he  left  by  turning  in  the  air — that 
is  what  I  have  seen  hundreds  of  times  myself." 

"  Then  they  must  be  able  to  fly  as  well  as  see  in  the  air." 

"  You  may  say  about  it  what  you  will  please  ;  but  that  is 
what  I  know — that  is  what  I  know  ferry  well  myself." 

"  And  I  should  think  there  were  not  many  people  in  the 
country  who  knew  more  about  salmon  than  you,"  said  Frank 
Lavender.  "  And  I  hear,  too,  that  your  daughter  is  a  great 
fisher." 

But  this  was  a  blunder.    The  old  man  frowned. 


26  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Who  will  tell  you  such  nonsense  ?  Sheila  has  gone  out 
many  times  with  Duncan,  and  he  will  put  a  rod  in  her  hands 
— yes — and  she  will  have  caught  a  fish  or  two — but  it  iss  not 
a  story  to  tell.  My  daughter  she  will  have  plenty  to  do 
about  the  house,  without  any  of  such  nonsense.  You  will 
expect  to  find  us  all  savages,  with  such  stories  of  nonsense." 

"  I  am  sure  not,"  said  Lavender,  warmly  ;  "  I  have  been 
very  much  struck  with  the  civilization  of  the  island,  so  far  as 
I  have  seen  it ;  and  I  can  assure  you  I  have  always  heard  of 
Miss  Sheila  as  a  singularly  accomplished  young  lady." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mackenzie,  somewhat  mollified,  "  Sheila  has 
been  well  brought  up — she  is  not  a  fisherman's  lass,  running 
about  wild,  and  catching  the  salmon.  I  cannot  listen  to 
such  nonsense — and  it  iss  Duncan  will  tell  it." 

"  I  can  assure  you,  no.  I  have  never  spoken  to  Duncan. 
The  fact  is,  Ingram  mentioned  that  your  daughter  had 
caught  a  salmon  or  two  as  a  tribute  to  her  skill,  you  know." 

"  Oh,  I  know  it  wass  Duncan,"  said  Mackenzie,  with  a 
deeper  frown  coming  over  his  face.  "  I  will  hef  some  means 
taken  to  stop  Duncan  from  talking  such  nonsense." 

The  young  man — knowing  nothing  as  yet  of  the  child-like 
obedience  paid  to  the  King  of  Borva  by  his  islanders — 
thought  to  himself — 

"  Well,  you  are  a  very  strong  and  self-ivilled  old  gentleman, 
but  if  I  were  you,  I  should  not  meddle  much  with  that  tall 
keeper  with  the  eagle  beak  and  the  grey  eyes.  I  should  not 
like  to  be  a  stag,  and  know  that  that  fellow  was  watching  me, 
somewhere,  with  a  rifle  in  his  hands." 

At  length  they  came  upon  the  brow  of  the  hill  overlooking 
Grarra-na-hina  *  and  the  panorama  of  the  western  lochs  and 
mountains.  Down  there  on  the  side  of  the  hill  was  the  small 
inn,  with  its  little  patch  of  garden  ;  then  a  few  moist  meadows 
leading  over  to  the  estuary  of  the  Black  River  ;  and  beyond 
that  an  illimitable  prospect  of  heathy  undulations  rising  into 
the  mighty  peaks  of  Cracabhal,  Mealasabhal,  and  Suainabhal. 
Then  on  the  right,  leading  away  out  to  the  as  yet  invisible 
Atlantic,  lay  the  blue  plain  of  Loch  Roag,  with  a  margin  of 
yellow  sea-weed  along  its  shores,  where  the  rocks  revealed 
themselves  at  low  water,  and  with  a  multitude  of  large,  varie- 

*  Literally  Gearaidh-na'h-Aimhne — "  the  cutting  of  the  river." 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  27 

gated,  and  verdant  islands  which  hid  from  sight  the  still 
greater  Borva  beyond. 

They  stopped  to  have  a  glass  of  whisky  at  Garra-na-hina, 
and  Mackenzie  got  down  from  the  waggonette  and  went  into 
the  inn. 

"  And  this  is  a  Highland  loch  !  "  said  Lavender,  turning 
to  his  companion  from  the  South.  "  It  is  an  enchanted  sea — 
you  could  fancy  yourself  in  the  Pacific,  if  only  there  were 
some  palm  trees  on  the  shores  of  the  islands.  No  wonder  you 
took  for  an  Eve  any  sort  of  woman  you  met  in  such  a 
Paradise." 

"  You  seem  to  be  thinking  a  good  deal  about  that  young 
lady." 

"  "Well,  who  would  not  wish  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  a 
pretty  girl — especially  when  you  have  plenty  of  time  on  your 
hands,  and  nothing  to  do  but  pay  her  little  attentions,  you 
know,  and  so  forth,  as  being  the  daughter  of  your  host  ?  " 

There  was  no  particular  answer  to  such  an  incoherent 
question ;  but  Ingram  did  not  seem  so  well  pleased  as  he 
had  been  with  the  prospect  of  introducing  his  friend  to  the 
young  Highland  girl  whose  praises  he  had  been  reciting  for 
many  a  day. 

However,  they  drank  their  whisky,  drove  on  to  Callernish, 
and  here  paused  for  a  minute  or  two  to  show  the  stranger  a 
series  of  large  so-called  Druidical  stones  which  occupy  a  small 
plateau  overlooking  the  loch.  Could  anything  have  been  more 
impressive  than  the  sight  of  these  solitary  grey  pillars  placed 
on  this  bit  of  table-land  high  over  the  sea,  and  telling  of  a 
race  that  vanished  ages  ago  and  left  the  surrounding  plains, 
and  hills,  and  shores  a  wild  and  untenanted  solitude  ?  But 
somehow  Lavender  did  not  care  to  remain  among  those 
voiceless  monuments  of  a  forgotten  past.  He  said  he  would 
come  and  sketch  them  some  other  day.  He  praised  the 
picture  all  around  ;  and  then  came  back  to  the  stretch  of 
ruffled  blue  water  lying  at  the  base  of  the  hill.  "  Where  was 
Mr.  Mackenzie's  boat  ?  "  he  asked. 

They  left  the  high  plain,  with  its  Tuirsachan*  or  Stones  of 

*  Another  name  given  by  the  islanders  to  those  stones  is  Fir- 
Ihreicje,  "  false  men."  Both  names,  "  False  Men "  and  "  The 
Mourners,"  should  be  of  some  interest  to  antiquarians,  for  they  will 
suit  pretty  nearly  any  theory. 


28  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Mourning,  and  descended  to  the  side  of  the  loch.  In  a  few 
moments,  Duncan,  who  had  been  disposing  of  the  horses  and 
the  waggonette,  overtook  them,  got  ready  the  boat,  and  pre- 
sently they  were  cutting  asunder  the  bright  blue  plain  of 
summer  waves. 

At  last  they  were  nearing  the  King  of  Borva's  island.  The 
white  foam  hissed  down  the  side  of  the  open  boat.  The  sun 
burned  hot  on  the  brown  sail.  Far  away  over  the  shining 
plain  the  salmon  were  leaping  into  the  air,  catching  a  quick 
glint  of  silver  on  their  scales  before  they  splashed  again  into 
the  water.  Half-a-dozen  sea-pyes,  with  their  beautiful  black 
and  white  plumage,  and  scarlet  beaks  and  feet,  flew  screaming 
out  from  the  rocks,  and  swept  swiftly  in  again  to  the  shore. 
A  long  flight  of  wild  geese  could  just  be  seen  slowly  sailing 
along  the  western  horizon.  As  the  small  craft  got  out  to- 
wards the  sea,  the  breeze  freshened  slightly,  and  she  lay  over 
somewhat,  as  the  brine-laden  winds  caught  her,  and  tingled 
on  the  cheeks  of  her  passengers  from  the  softer  South. 
Finally,  as  the  great  channel  widened  out,  and  the  various 
smaller  islands  disappeared  behind,  Ingram  touched  his 
companion  on  the  shoulder,  looked  over  to  a  long  and  low 
line  of  rock  and  hill,  and  said — 

"  Borva ! " 

And  this  was  Borva  ! — nothing  visible  but  an  indefinite 
extent  of  rocky  shore,  with  here  and  there  a  bay  of  white 
sand,  and  over  that  a  table-land  of  green  pasture,  apparently 
uninhabited. 

"  There  are  not  many  people  on  the  island,"  said  Lavender, 
svho  seemed  rather  disappointed  with  the  look  of  the  place. 

"  There  are  three  hundred,"  said  Mackenzie,  with  the  air 
of  one  who  had  experienced  the  difficulties  of  ruling  over 
three  hundred  islanders. 

He  had  scarcely  spoken,  when  his  attention  was  called  by 
Duncan  to  some  object  that  the  gillie  had  been  regarding 
for  some  minutes  back. 

"  Yes,  it  iss  Miss  Sheila,"  said  Duncan. 

A  sort  of  flash  of  expectation  passed  over  Lavender's  face, 
and  he  sprang  to  his  feet.  Ingram  laughed.  Did  the  foolish 
youth  fancy  he  could  see  half  as  far  as  this  grey-eyed,  eagle- 
faced  man,  who  had  now  sunk  into  his  accustomed  seat  by 
the  mast  ?  There  was  nothing  visible  to  ordinary  eyes  but 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  29 

a  speck  of  a  boat,  with  a  single  sail  up,  which  was  apparently, 
in  the  distance,  running  in  for  Borva. 

"  Ay,  ay,  ay,"  said  Mackenzie,  in  a  vexed  way,  "  it  is 
Sheila,  true  enough  ;  and  what  will  she  do  out  in  the  boat 
at  this  time,  when  she  wass  to  be  at  home  to  receive  the 
gentlemen  that  hef  come  ah1  the  way  from  London  ?  " 

"  Well,  Mr.  Mackenzie,"  said  Lavender,  "  I  should  be 
sorry  to  think  that  our  coming  had  interfered  in  any  way 
whatever  with  your  daughter's  amusements." 

"  Amusements  !  "  said  the  old  man,  with  a  look  of  surprise. 
"  It  iss  not  amusements  she  will  go  for — that  is  no  amuse- 
ments for  her.  It  is  for  some  teffle  of  a  purpose  she  will 
go,  when  it  is  the  house  that  is  the  proper  place  for  her, 
with  friends  coming  from  so  great  a  journey." 

Presently  it  became  clear  that  a  race  between  the  two 
boats  was  inevitable,  both  of  them  making  for  the  same 
point.  Mackenzie  would  take  no  notice  of  such  a  thing  ; 
but  there  was  a  grave  smile  on  Duncan's  face,  and  something 
like  a  look  of  pride  in  his  keen  eyes. 

"  There  iss  no  one,  not  one,"  he  said,  almost  to  himself, 
"  will  take  her  in  better  than  Miss  Sheila — not  one  in  ta 
island.  And  it  wass  me  tat  learnt  her  every  bit  o'  ta  steering 
about  Borva." 

The  strangers  could  now  make  out  that  in  the  other  boat 
there  were  two  girls,  one  seated  in  the  stern,  the  other  by 
the  mast.  Ingram  took  out  his  handkerchief  and  waved  it ; 
a  similar  token  of  recognition  was  floated  out  from  the  other 
vessel.  But  Mackenzie's  boat  presently  had  the  better  of  the 
wind,  and  slowly  drew  on  ahead  ;  until,  when  her  passengers 
landed  on  the  rude  stone  quay,  they  found  the  other  and 
smaller  craft  still  some  little  distance  off. 

Lavender  paid  little  attention  to  his  luggage.  He  let 
Duncan  do  with  it  what  he  liked.  He  was  watching  the  small 
boat  coming  in,  and  getting  a  little  impatient,  and  perhaps  a 
little  nervous,  in  waiting  for  a  glimpse  of  the  young  lady  in 
the  stern.  He  could  vaguely  make  out  that  she  had  an 
abundance  of  dark  hair  looped  up  ;  that  she  wore  a  small 
straw  hat  with  a  short  white  feather  in  it ;  and  that  for  the 
rest,  she  seemed  to  be  habited  entirely  in  some  rough  and 
close-fitting  costume  of  dark  blue.  Or  was  there  a  glimmer 
of  a  band  of  rose-red  round  her  neck  ? 


30  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

The  small  boat  was  cleverly  run  alongside  the  jetty ; 
Duncan  caught  her  bow  and  held  her  fast ;  and  Miss  Sheila, 
with  a  heavy  string  of  lythe  in  her  right  hand,  stepped, 
laughing  and  blushing,  on  to  the  quay.  Ingram  was  there. 
She  dropped  the  fish  on  the  stones,  and  took  his  two  hands 
in  hers,  and,  without  uttering  a  word,  looked  a  glad  welcome 
into  his  face.  It  was  a  face  capable  of  saying  unspoken 
things — fine  and  delicate  in  form,  and  yet  fuU  of  an  abun- 
dance of  health  and  good  spirits  that  shone  in  the  deep 
grey-blue  eyes.  Lavender's  first  emotion  was  one  of  surprise 
that  he  should  have  heard  this  handsome,  well-knit,  and 
proud-featured  girl  called  "  little  Sheila,"  and  spoken  of  in 
a  pretty  and  caressing  way.  He  thought  there  was  some- 
thing almost  majestic  in  her  figure,  in  the  poising  of  her 
head,  and  the  outline  of  her  face.  But  presently  he  began 
to  perceive  some  singular  suggestions  of  sensitiveness  and 
meekness  in  the  low,  sweet  brow,  in  the  short  and  exquisitely- 
curved  upper-lip,  and  in  the  look  of  the  tender  blue  eyes, 
which  had  long  black  eyelashes  to  give  them  a  peculiar  and 
indefinable  charm.  All  this  he  noticed  hastily  and  timidly 
as  he  heard  Ingram,  who  still  held  the  girl's  hands  in  his, 
saying — • 

"  Well,  Sheila,  and  you  haven't  quite  forgotten  me  ? 
And  you  are  grown  such  a  woman  now — why,  I  mustn't 
call  you  Sheila  any  more,  I  think — but  let  me  introduce  to 
you  my  friend,  who  has  come  all  the  way  from  London  to 
see  all  the  wonderful  things  of  Borva." 

If  there  was  any  embarrassment  or  blushing  during  that 
simple  ceremony,  it  was  not  on  the  side  of  the  Highland 
girl ;  for  she  frankly  shook  hands  with  him  and  said — 

"  And  are  you  very  well  ?  " 

The  second  impression  which  Lavender  gathered  from  her 
was,  that  nowhere  in  the  world  was  English  pronounced  so 
beautifully  as  in  the  island  of  Lewis.  The  gentle  intonation 
with  which  she  spoke  was  so  tender  and  touching — the 
slight  dwelling  on  the  e  in  "  very  "  and  "  well "  seemed  to 
have  such  a  sound  of  sincerity  about  it,  that  he  could  have 
fancied  he  had  been  a  friend  of  hers  for  a  lifetime.  And  if 
she  said  "  ferry  "  for  "  very,"  what  then  ?  It  was  the  most 
beautiful  English  he  had  ever  heard. 

The  party  now  moved  off  towards  the  shore,  above  the 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  31 

long  white  curve  of  which  Mackenzie's  house  was  visible. 
The  old  man  himself  led  the  way,  and  had,  by  his  silence, 
apparently  not  quite  forgiven  his  daughter  for  having  been 
absent  from  home  when  his  guests  arrived. 

"  Now,  Sheila,"  said  Ingram,  "  tell  me  all  about  yourself  ; 
what  have  you  been  doing  ?  " 

"  This  morning  ?  "  said  the  girl,  walking  beside  him  with 
her  hand  laid  on  his  arm,  and  with  the  happiest  look  on  her 
face. 

"  This  morning,  to  begin  with.  Did  you  catch  those  fish 
yourself  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  there  was  no  time  for  that.  And  it  was  Mairi 
and  I  saw  a  boat  coming  in,  and  it  was  going  to  Mevaig, 
but  we  overtook  it,  and  got  some  of  the  fish,  and  we  thought 
we  should  be  back  before  you  came.  However,  it  is  no 
matter  since  you  are  here.  And  you  have  been  very  well  ? 
And  did  you  see  any  difference  in  Stornoway  when  you 
came  over  ?  " 

Lavender  began  to  think  that  "  Styornoway "  sounded 
ever  so  much  more  pleasant  than  mere  Stornoway. 

"  We  had  not  a  minute  to  wait  in  Stornoway.  But  tell 
me,  Sheila,  all  about  Borva  and  yourself — that  is  better  than 
Stornoway.  How  are  your  schools  getting  on  ?  And  have 
you  bribed  or  frightened  all  the  children  into  giving  up 
Gaelic  yet  ?  How  is  John  the  Piper — and  does  the  Free 
Church  minister  still  complain  of  him  ?  And  have  you 
caught  any  more  wild  ducks  and  tamed  them  ?  And  are 
there  any  grey  geese  up  at  Loch-an-Eilean  ?  " 

"  Oh,  that  is  too  many  at  once,"  said  Sheila,  laughing. 
"  But  I  am  afraid  your  friend  will  find  Borva  very  lonely 
sind  dull.  There  is  not  much  here  at  all — for  all  the  lads 
are  away  at  Caithness  fishing.  And  you  should  have  shown 
him  all  about  Stornoway,  and  taken  him  up  to  the  Castle, 
and  the  beautiful  gardens." 

"  He  has  seen  all  sorts  of  castles,  Sheila,  and  ah1  sorts  of 
gardens  in  every  part  of  the  world.  He  has  seen  everything 
to  be  seen  in  the  great  cities  and  countries  that  are  only 
names  to  you.  He  has  travelled  in  France,  Italy,  Russia, 
Germany,  and  seen  all  the  big  towns  that  you  hear  of  in 
history." 

'•That  is  what  I  should  like  to  do,  if  I  were  a  man," 


32  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

said  Sheila ;  "  and  many  and  many  a  time  I  wish  I  had 
been  a  man,  that  I  could  go  to  the  fishing,  and  work  in  the 
fields,  and  then  when  I  had  seen  enough,  go  away  and  see 
other  countries  and  strange  people." 

"  But  if  you  were  a  man,  I  should  not  have  come  all  the 
way  from  London  to  see  you,"  said  Ingram,  patting  the  hand 
that  lay  on  his  arm. 

"  But  if  I  were  a  man,"  said  the  girl,  quite  frankly,  "  I 
should  go  up  to  London  to  see  you." 

Mackenzie  smiled  grimly,  and  said — 

"  Sheila,  it  is  nonsense  you  will  talk." 

At  this  moment  Sheila  turned  round,  and  said— 

"  Oh,  we  have  forgotten  poor  Mairi.  Mairi,  why  did  you 
not  leave  the  fish  for  Duncan  ? — they  are  too  heavy  for  you. 
I  will  carry  them  to  the  house." 

But  Lavender  sprang  forward,  and  insisted  on  taking 
possession  of  the  thick  cord  with  its  considerable  weight  of 
lythe. 

"  This  is  my  cousin  Mairi,"  said  Sheila  ;  and  forthwith  the 
young,  fair-faced,  timid-eyed  girl  shook  hands  with  the 
gentlemen,  and  said — just  as  if  she  had  been  watching 
Sheila— 

"  And  are  you  ferry  well,  sir  ?  " 

For  the  rest  of  the  way  up  to  the  house,  Lavender  walked 
by  the  side  of  Sheila  ;  and  as  the  string  of  lythe  had  formed 
the  introduction  to  their  talk,  it  ran  pretty  much  upon 
natural  history.  In  about  five  minutes  she  had  told  him 
more  about  sea-birds  and  fish  than  ever  he  knew  in  his  life  ; 
and  she  wound  up  this  information  by  offering  to  take  him 
out  on  the  following  morning,  that  he  might  himself  catch 
some  lythe. 

"  But  I  am  a  wretchedly  bad  fisherman,  Miss  Mackenzie," 
he  said.  "  It  is  some  years  since  I  tried  to  throw  a  fly." 

"  Oh,  there  is  no  need  for  good  fishing  when  you  catch 
lythe,"  she  said,  earnestly.  "You  will  see  Mr.  Ingram 
catch  them.  It  is  only  a  big  white  fly  you  will  need,  and  a 
long  line,  and  when  the  fish  takes  the  fly,  down  he  goes — a 
great  depth.  Then  when  you  have  got  him,  and  he  is 
killed,  you  must  cut  the  sides,  as  you  see  that  is  done,  and 
string  him  to  a  rope  and  trail  him  behind  the  boat  all  the 
way  home.  If  you  do  not  do  that,  it  iss  no  use  at  all  to  eat. 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  STRANGER  33 

But  if  you  like  the  salmon-fishing,  my  papa  will  teach  you 
that.  There  is  no  one,"  she  added,  proudly,  "can  catch 
salmon  like  my  papa — not  even  Duncan — and  the  gentlemen 
who  come  in  the  autumn  to  Stornoway,  they  are  quite 
surprised  when  my  papa  goes  to  fish  with  them." 

"  I  suppose  he  is  a  good  shot,  too,"  said  the  young  man, 
amused  to  notice  the  proud  way  in  which  the  girl  spoke  of 
her  father. 

"  Oh,  he  can  shoot  anything.  He  will  shoot  a  seal,  if  he 
comes  up  but  for  one  moment  above  the  water  ;  and  all  the 
birds — he  will  get  you  all  the  birds,  if  you  will  wish  to  take 
any  away  with  you.  We  have  no  deer  on  the  island — it  is 
too  small  for  that ;  but  in  the  Lewis  and  in  Harris  there  are 
many,  many  thousands  of  deer,  and  my  papa  has  many 
invitations  when  the  gentlemen  come  up  in  the  autumn,  and 
if  you  look  in  the  game-book  of  the  lodges,  you  will  see 
there  is  not  anyone  who  has  shot  so  many  deer  as  my  papa 
— not  anyone  whatever." 

At  length  they  reached  the  building  of  dark  and  rude 
stone-work,  with  its  red  coping,  its  spacious  porch,  and  its 
small  enclosure  of  garden  in  front.  Lavender  praised  the 
flowers  in  this  enclosure — he  guessed  they  were  Sheila's 
particular  care ;  but,  in  truth,  there  was  nothing  rare  or 
delicate  among  the  plants  growing  in  this  exposed  situation. 
There  were  a  few  clusters  of  large  yellow  pansies,  a  calceolaria 
or  two,  plenty  of  wallflower,  some  clove  pinks,  and  an 
abundance  of  sweet-william  in  all  manner  of  colours.  But 
the  chief  beauty  of  the  small  garden  was  a  magnificent 
tree-fuchsia  which  grew  in  front  of  one  of  the  windows,  and 
was  covered  with  dark  rose-red  flowers  set  amid  its  small 
and  deep-green  leaves.  For  the  rest,  a  bit  of  honeysuckle 
was  trained  up  one  side  of  the  porch ;  and  at  the  small 
wooden  gate  there  were  two  bushes  of  sweet-brier,  that  filled 
the  warm  air  with  fragrance. 

Previous  to  entering  the  house,  the  two  strangers  turned 
to  have  a  look  at  the  spacious  landscape  lying  all  around,  in 
the  perfect  calm  of  a  summer  day.  And  lo  !  before  them 
there  was  but  a  blinding  mass  of  white  that  glared  upon 
their  eyes,  and  caused  them  to  see  the  far  sea,  and  the  shores, 
and  the  hills  as  but  faint  shadows  appearing  through  a 
silvery  haze.  A  thin  fleece  of  cloud  lay  across  the  sun  ;  but 

D 


34  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

the  light  was,  nevertheless,  so  intense  that  the  objects  near 
at  hand — a  disused  boat  lying  bottom  upwards,  an  immense 
anchor  of  foreign  make,  and  some  such  things — seemed  to 
be  as  black  as  night,  as  they  lay  on  the  warm  road.  But 
when  the  eye  got  beyond  the  house  and  the  garden,  and  the 
rough  hillside  leading  down  to  Loch  Roag,  all  the  world 
appeared  to  be  a  blaze  of  calm,  silent,  and  luminous  heat. 
Suainabhal  and  his  brother  mountains  were  only  as  clouds 
in  the  south.  Along  the  western  horizon,  the  portion  of 
the  Atlantic  that  could  be  seen,  lay  like  a  silent  lake  under  a 
white  sky.  To  get  any  touch  of  colour,  they  had  to  turn 
eastward  ;  and  there  the  sunlight  faintly  fell  on  the  green 
shores  of  Borva,  on  the  Narrows  of  Loch  Roag,  and  the 
loose  red  sail  of  a  solitary  smack  that  was  slowly  coming 
round  a  headland.  They  could  hear  the  sound  of  the  long 
oars.  A  pale  line  of  shadow  lay  in  the  wake  of  the  boat ; 
but  otherwise  the  black  hull  and  the  red  sail  seemed  to  be 
coming  through  a  plain  of  molten  silver.  When  the  young 
men  turned  to  go  into  the  house,  the  hall  appeared  a 
cavern  of  impenetrable  darkness,  and  there  was  a  flush  of 
crimson  light  dancing  before  their  eyes. 

When  Ingram  had  had  his  room  pointed  out,  Lavender 
followed  him  into  it,  and  shut  the  door. 

"  By  Jove,  Ingram,"  he  said,  with  a  singular  light  of 
enthusiasm  on  his  handsome  face,  "  what  a  beautiful  voice 
that  girl  has — I  have  never  heard  anything  so  soft  and 
musical  in  all  my  life — and  then,  when  she  smiles,  what 
perfect  teeth  she  has — and  then,  you  know,  there  is  an 

appearance,  a  style,  a  grace,  about  her  figure But,  I  say, 

do  you  seriously  mean  to  tell  me  you  are  not  in  love 
with  her  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  am  not,"  said  the  other,  impatiently,  as  he 
was  busily  engaged  with  his  portmanteau. 

"  Then  let  me  give  you  a  word  of  information,"  said  the 
younger  man  ;  "  she  is  in  love  with  you." 

Ingram  rose,  with  some  little  touch  of  vexation  on  his 
face. 

"  Look  here,  Lavender.  I  am  going  to  talk  to  you 
seriously.  I  wish  you  wouldn't  fancy  that  everyone  is  in 
that  condition  of  simmering  love-making  you  delight  in. 
You  never  were  in  love,  I  believe  ;  but  you  are  always 


THERE  WAS  A  KING  IN  THULE  35 

fancying  yourself  in  love,  and  writing  very  pretty  verses 
about  it,  and  painting  very  pretty  heads.  I  like  the  verses 
and  the  paintings  well  enough,  however  they  are  come  by  ; 
but  don't  mislead  yourself  into  believing  that  you  know 
anything  whatever  of  a  real  and  serious  passion  by  having 
engaged  in  all  sorts  of  imaginative  and  semi-poetical  dreams. 
It  is  a  much  more  serious  thing  than  that,  mind  you,  when 
it  comes  to  a  man,  as  I  trust  you  will  find  out.  But,  for 
heaven's  sake,  don't  attribute  any  of  that  sort  of  sentimental 
make-believe  to  either  Sheila  Mackenzie  or  myself.  We  are 
not  romantic  folks.  We  have  no  imaginative  gifts  whatever ; 
but  we  are  very  glad,  you  know,  to  be  attentive  and 
grateful  to  those  who  have.  The  fact  is,  I  don't  think  it 
quite  fair " 

"  Let  us  suppose  I  am  lectured  enough,"  said  the  other, 
somewhat  bluntly.  "  I  suppose  I  am  as  good  a  judge  of  the 
character  of  a  woman  as  most  other  men,  although  I  am  no 
great  student,  and  have  no  hard  and  dried  rules  of  philo- 
sophy at  my  fingers'  ends.  Perhaps,  however,  one  may 
learn  more  by  mixing  with  other  people,  and  going  out  into 
the  world,  than  by  sitting  in  a  room  with  a  dozen  books 
and  persuading  oneself  that  men  and  women  are  to  be 
studied  in  that  fashion." 

"  Go  away,  you  stupid  boy,  and  unpack  your  portmanteau, 
and  don't  quarrel  with  me,"  said  Ingram,  placing  out  on 
the  table  some  things  he  had  brought  for  Sheila  ;  "  and  if 
you  are  friendly  with  Sheila,  and  treat  her  Like  a  human 
being,  instead  of  trying  to  put  a  lot  of  romance  and 
sentiment  about  her,  she  will  teach  you  more  than  you 
could  learn  in  a  hundred  drawing-rooms  in  a  thousand 
years." 

CHAPTER  III. 

THERE  WAS  A  KING   EST  THULE. 

HE  never  took  that  advice.  He  had  already  transformed 
Sheila  into  a  heroine  during  the  half-hour  of  their  stroll 
from  the  beach  and  around  the  house.  Not  that  he  fell  in 
love  with  her  at  first  sight,  or  anything  even  approaching  to 
that.  He  merely  made  her  the  central  figure  of  a  little 

D  2 


36  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

speculative  romance,  as  he  had  made  many  another  woman 
before.  Of  course,  in  these  little  fanciful  dramas,  written 
along  the  sky-line,  as  it  were,  of  his  life,  he  invariably  pictured 
himself  as  the  fitting  companion  of  the  fair  creature  he  saw 
there.  "Who  but  himself  could  understand  the  sentiment  of 
her  eyes,  and  teach  her  little  love-ways,  and  express  un- 
bounded admiration  of  her  ?  More  than  one  practical  young 
woman,  indeed,  in  certain  circles  of  London  society,  had  been 
informed  by  her  friends  that  Mr.  Lavender  was  dreadf ully  in 
love  with  her  ;  and  had  been  much  surprised,  after  this  con- 
firmation of  her  suspicions,  that  he  sought  no  means  of  bring- 
ing the  affair  to  a  reasonable  and  sensible  issue.  He  did  not 
even  amuse  himself  by  flirting  with  her,  as  men  would  will- 
ingly do  who  could  not  be  charged  with  any  serious  purpose 
whatever.  His  devotion  was  more  mysterious  and  remote. 
A  rumour  would  get  about  that  Mr.  Lavender  had  finished 
another  of  those  charming  heads  in  pastel,  which,  at  a  dis- 
tance, reminded  one  of  Greuze ;  and  that  Lady  So-and-so, 
who  had  bought  it  forthwith,  had  declared  that  it  was  the 
image  of  this  young  lady,  who  was  partly  puzzled  and  partly 
vexed  by  the  incomprehensible  conduct  of  her  reputed  ad- 
mirer. It  was  the  fashion,  in  these  social  circles,  to  buy  those 
heads  of  Lavender,  when  he  chose  to  paint  them.  He  had 
achieved  a  fair  reputation  by  them.  The  good  people  liked 
to  have  a  genius  in  their  own  set,  whom  they  had  discovered, 
and  who  was  only  to  be  appreciated  by  persons  of  exceptional 
taste  and  penetration.  Lavender,  the  uninitiated  were  as- 
sured, was  a  most  cultivated  and  brilliant  young  man.  He 
had  composed  some  charming  songs.  He  had  written,  from 
time  to  time,  some  quite  delightful  little  poems,  over  which 
fair  eyes  had  grown  full  and  liquid.  Who  had  not  heard  of 
the  face  that  he  painted  for  a  certain  young  lady,  whom 
everyone  expected  him  to  marry  ? 

The  young  man  escaped  a  great  deal  of  the  ordinary  con- 
sequences of  this  petting  ;  but  not  all.  He  was  at  bottom 
really  true-hearted,  frank,  and  generous — generous  even  to  an 
extreme  ;  but  he  had  acquired  a  habit  of  producing  striking 
impressions  which  dogged  and  perverted  his  every  action  and 
speech.  He  disliked  losing  a  few  shillings  at  billiards,  but 
he  did  not  mind  losing  a  few  pounds  :  the  latter  was  good 
for  a  story.  Had  he  possessed  any  money  to  invest  in 


THERE  WAS  A  KING  IN  THULE  37 

shares,  he  would  have  been  irritated  by  small  rises  or  small 
falls ;  but  he  would  have  been  vain  of  a  big  rise,  and  he 
would  have  regarded  a  big  fall  with  equanimity,  as  placing 
him  in  a  dramatic  light.  The  exaggerations  produced  by 
this  habit  of  his,  fostered  strange  delusions  in  the  minds  of 
people  who  did  not  know  him  very  well ;  and  sometimes 
the  practical  results — in  the  way  of  expected  charities  or 
what  not — amazed  him.  He  could  not  understand  why 
people  should  have  made  such  mistakes  ;  and  resented  them 
as  an  injustice.  Perhaps,  if  the  young  fellow  had  not  been 
possessed  at  bottom  of  many  sound  qualities,  the  conse- 
quences of  this  social  petting  would  have  been  more  serious. 

And  as  they  sat  at  dinner  on  this  still,  brilliant  evening 
in  summer,  it  was  Sheila's  turn  to  be  clothed  in  the  gar- 
ments of  romance.  Her  father,  with  his  great  grey  beard 
and  heavy  brow,  became  the  King  of  Thule,  living  in  this 
solitary  house  overlooking  the  sea,  and  having  memories  of 
a  dead  sweetheart.  His  daughter,  the  Princess,  had  the 
glamour  of  a  thousand  legends  dwelling  in  her  beautiful 
eyes  ;  and  when  she  walked  by  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic, 
that  were  now  getting  yellow  under  the  sunset,  what  strange 
and  unutterable  thoughts  must  appear  in  the  wonder  of  her 
face  !  He  remembered  no  more  how  he  had  pulled  to  pieces 
Ingram's  praises  of  Sheila.  What  had  become  of  the  "  ordi- 
nary young  lady,  who  would  be  a  little  interesting,  if  a  little 
stupid,  before  marriage,  and,  after  marriage,  sink  into  the 
dull,  domestic  hind  ?  "  There  could  be  no  doubt  that  Sheila 
often  sat  silent  for  a  considerable  time,  with  her  eyes  fixed 
on  her  father's  face  when  he  spoke,  or  turning  to  look  at 
some  other  speaker.  Had  Lavender  now  been  asked  if  this 
silence  had  not  a  trifle  of  dulness  in  it,  he  would  have 
replied  by  asking  if  there  were  dulness  in  the  stillness  and 
the  silence  of  the  sea.  He  grew  to  regard  her  calm  and 
thoughtful  look  as  a  sort  of  spell ;  and  if  you  had  asked  him 
what  Sheila  was  like,  he  would  have  answered  by  saying 
that  there  was  moonlight  in  her  face. 

The  room,  too,  in  which  this  mystic  Princess  sat,  was 
strange  and  wonderful.  There  were  no  doors  visible  ;  for 
the  four  walls  were  throughout  covered  by  a  paper  of  foreign 
manufacture,  representing  spacious  Tyrolese  landscapes,  and 
incidents  of  the  chase.  When  Lavender  had  at  first  entered 


38  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

this  chamber,  his  eye  had  been  shocked  by  these  coarse  and 
prominent  pictures — by  the  green  rivers,  the  blue  lakes,  and 
the  snow  peaks  that  rose  above  certain  ruddy  chalets.  There 
a  chamois  was  stumbling  down  a  ravine,  and  there  an 
operatic  peasant,  some  eight  or  ten  inches  in  actual  length, 
was  pointing  a  gun.  The  large  figures,  the  coarse  colours, 
the  theatrical  scenes — all  this  looked,  at  first  sight,  to  be  in 
the  worst  possible  taste  ;  and  Lavender  was  convinced  that 
Sheila  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  introduction  of  this 
abominable  decoration.  But  somehow,  when  he  turned  to 
the  line  of  ocean  that  was  visible  from  the  window,  to  the 
lonely  shores  of  the  island,  and  the  monotony  of  colours 
showing  in  the  still  picture  without,  he  began  to  fancy  that 
there  might  be  a  craving  up  in  these  latitudes  for  some  pre- 
sentation, however  rude  and  glaring,  of  the  richer  and.  more 
variegated  life  of  the  South.  The  figures  and  mountains 
on  the  walls  became  less  prominent.  He  saw  no  incon- 
gruity in  a  whole  chalet  giving  way,  and  allowing  Duncan, 
who  waited  at  table,  to  bring  forth  from  this  aperture  to  the 
kitchen,  a  steaming  dish  of  salmon,  while  he  spoke  some 
words  in  Gaelic  to  the  servants  at  the  other  end  of  the  tube. 
He  even  forgot  to  be  surprised  at  the  appearance  of  little 
Mairi,  with  whom  he  had  shaken  hands  a  little  while  before, 
coming  round  the  table  with  potatoes.  He  did  not,  as  a 
rule,  shake  hands  with  servant-maids  ;  but  was  not  this  fair- 
haired,  wistful-eyed  girl  some  relative,  friend,  or  companion 
of  Sheila's  ;  and  had  he  not  already  begun  to  lose  all  percep- 
tion of  the  incongruous  or  the  absurd  in  the  strange  per- 
vading charm  with  which  Sheila's  presence  filled  the  place  ? 

He  suddenly  found  Mackenzie's  deep-set  eyes  fixed  upon 
him,  and  became  aware  that  the  old  man  had  been  mys- 
teriously announcing  to  Ingram  that  there  were  more  poli- 
tical movements  abroad  than  people  fancied.  Sheila  sat 
still  and  listened  to  her  father  as  he  expounded  these 
things,  and  showed  that,  although  at  a  distance,  he  could 
perceive  the  signs  of  the  times.  Was  it  not  incumbent, 
moreover,  on  a  man  who  had  to  look  after  a  number  of  poor 
and  simple  folks,  that  he  should  be  on  the  alert  ? 

"  It  iss  not  bekass  you  will  live  in  London  you  will  know 
everything,"  said  the  King  of  Borva,  with  a  certain  signifi- 
cance in  his  tone.  "  There  iss  many  things  a  man  does  not 


THERE  WAS  A  KING  IN  THULE  39 

see  at  his  feet,  that  another  man  will  see  who  is  a  good  way 
off.  The  International,  now " 

He  glanced  furtively  at  Lavender. 

"  — I  hef  been  told  there  will  be  agents  going  out  every 
day  to  all  parts  of  this  country  and  other  countries,  and  they 
will  hef  plenty  of  money  to  live  like  gentlemen,  and  get 
among  the  poor  people,  and  fill  their  minds  with  foolish  non- 
sense about  a  revolution.  Oh,  yes,  I  hear  about  it  all,  and 
there  iss  many  members  of  Parliament  in  it,  and  it  iss  every 
day  they  will  get  farther  and  farther,  all  working  hard, 
though  no  one  sees  them  who  does  not  understand  to  be  on 
the  watch." 

Here,  again,  the  young  man  received  a  quiet,  scrutinizing 
glance  ;  and  it  began  to  dawn  upon  him,  to  his  infinite  aston- 
ishment, that  Mackenzie  half  suspected  him  of  being  an 
emissary  of  the  International.  In  the  case  of  any  other  man, 
he  would  have  laughed,  and  paid  no  heed  ;  but  how  could  he 
permit  Sheila's  father  to  regard  him  with  any  such  suspicion  ? 

"  Don't  you  think,  sir,"  he  said,  boldly,  that  these  Inter- 
nationalists are  a  lot  of  incorrigible  idiots  ?  " 

As  if  a  shrewd  observer  of  men  and  motives  were  to  be 
deceived  by  such  a  protest !  Mackenzie  regarded  him  with 
increased  suspicion,  although  he  endeavoured  to  conceal  the 
fact  that  he  was  watching  the  young  man  from  time  to 
time.  Lavender  saw  all  the  favour  he  had  won  during  the 
day  disappearing  ;  and  moodily  wondered  when  he  should 
have  a  chance  of  explanation. 

After  dinner,  they  went  outside  and  sat  down  on  a  bench 
in  the  garden,  and  the  men  lit  their  cigars.  It  was  a  cool 
and  pleasant  evening.  The  sun  had  gone  down  in  red  fire 
behind  the  Atlantic,  and  there  was  still  left  a  rich  glow  of 
crimson  in  the  west,  while  overhead,  in  the  pale  yellow  of 
the  sky,  some  filmy  clouds  of  rose-colour  lay  motionless. 
How  calm  was  the  sea  out  there,  and  the  white  stretch  of 
water  coming  into  Loch  Roag  !  The  cool  air  of  the  twi- 
light was  scented  with  sweet-brier.  The  wash  of  the  ripples 
along  the  coast  could  be  heard  in  the  stillness.  It  was  a 
time  for  lovers  to  sit  by  the  sea,  careless  of  the  future  or 
the  past. 

But  why  would  this  old  man  keep  prating  of  his  political 
prophecies  ?  Lavender  asked  of  himself.  Sheila  had  spoken 


40  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

scarcely  a  word  all  the  evening  ;  and  of  what  interest  could 
it  be  to  her  to  listen  to  theories  of  revolution,  and  the 
dangers  besetting  our  hot-headed  youth  ?  She  merely  stood 
by  the  side  of  her  father,  with  her  hand  on  his  shoulder.  He 
noticed,  however,  that  she  paid  particular  attention  whenever 
Ingram  spoke  ;  and  he  wondered  whether  she  perceived  that 
Ingram  was  partly  humouring  the  old  man,  at  the  same 
time  that  he  was  pleasing  himself  with  a  series  of  monologues, 
interrupted  only  by  his  cigar. 

"  That  is  true  enough,  Mr.  Mackenzie,"  Ingram  would  say, 
lying  back  with  his  two  hands  clasped  round  his  knee,  as 
usual ;  "  you've  got  to  be  careful  of  the  opinions  that  are 
spread  abroad,  even  in  Borva,  where  not  much  danger  is  to  be 
expected.  But  I  don't  suppose  our  young  men  arc  more 
destructive  in  their  notions  than  young  men  always  have 
been.  You  know,  every  young  fellow  starts  in  life  by  knock- 
ing down  all  the  beliefs  he  finds  before  him,  and  then  he 
spends  the  rest  of  his  life  in  setting  them  up  again.  It  is 
only  after  some  years  he  gets  to  know  that  all  the  wisdom  of 
the  world  lies  in  the  old  commonplaces  he  once  despised. 
He  finds  that  the  old  familiar  ways  are  the  best,  and  he 
sinks  into  being  a  commonplace  person,  with  much  satisfac- 
tion to  himself.  My  friend  Lavender,  now,  is  continually 
charging  me  with  being  commonplace.  I  admit  the  charge. 
I  have  drifted  back  into  all  the  old  ways  and  beliefs — about 
religion,  and  marriage,  and  patriotism,  and  what  not — that 
ten  years  ago  I  should  have  treated  with  ridicule." 

"  Suppose  the  process  continues,"  suggested  Lavender. 

"  Suppose  it  does,"  continued  Ingram,  carelessly.  "  Ten 
years  hence  I  may  be  proud  to  become  a  vestryman,  and 
have  the  most  anxious  care  about  the  administration  of  the 
rates.  I  shall  be  looking  after  the  drainage  of  houses,  and 
the  treatment  of  paupers,  and  the  management  of  Sunday 

Schools But  all  this  is  an  invasion  of  your  province, 

Sheila,"  he  suddenly  added,  looking  up  to  her. 

The  girl  laughed,  and  said — • 

"  Then  I  have  been  commonplace  from  the  beginning  ?  " 

Ingram  was  about  to  make  all  manner  of  protests  and 
apologies,  when  Mackenzie  said — 

"  Sheila,  it  wass  tune  you  will  go  indoors,  if  you  have 
nothing  about  your  head.  Go  in  and  sing  a  song  to  us, 


THERE  WAS  A  KING  IN  THULE  41 

and  we  will  listen  to  you  ;  and  not  a  sad  song,  but  a  good 
merry  song.  These  teffles  of  the  fishermen,  it  iss  always 
drownings  they  will  sing  about,  from  the  morning  till  the 
night." 

"Was  Sheila  about  to  sing — in  this  clear,  strange  twilight, 
while  they  sat  there  and  watched  the  yellow  moon  come  up 
behind  the  southern  hills  ?  Lavender  had  heard  so  much 
of  her  singing  of  those  fishermen's  ballads,  that  he  could 
think  of  nothing  more  to  add  to  the  enchantment  of  this 
wonderful  night.  But  he  was  disappointed.  The  girl  put 
her  hand  on  her  father's  head,  and  reminded  him  that  she 
had  had  her  big  greyhound  Bras  imprisoned  all  the  after- 
noon, that  she  had  to  go  down  to  Borvabost  with  a  message 
for  some  people  who  were  leaving  by  the  boat  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  would  the  gentlemen  therefore  excuse  her  not 
singing  to  them  for  this  one  evening  ? 

"  But  you  cannot  go  away  down  to  Borvabost  by  yourself, 
Sheila,"  said  Ingram.  "  It  will  be  dark  before  you  return." 

"  It  will  not  be  darker  than  this  all  the  night  through," 
said  the  girl. 

"  But  I  hope  you  will  let  us  go  with  you,"  said  Lavender, 
rather  anxiously  ;  and  she  assented  with  a  gracious  smile, 
and  went  to  fetch  the  great  deerhound  that  was  her 
constant  companion. 

And  lo  !  he  found  himself  walking  with  a  Princess  in  this 
wonder-land,  through  the  magic  twilight  that  prevails  in 
northern  latitudes.  Mackenzie  and  Ingram  had  gone  on  in 
front.  The  large  deerhound,  after  regarding  him  attentively, 
had  gone  to  its  mistress's  side,  and  remained  closely  there. 
Lavender  could  scarcely  believe  his  ears  that  the  girl  was 
talking  to  him  lightly  and  frankly,  as  though  she  had  known 
him  for  years,  and  was  telling  him  of  all  her  troubles  with 
the  folks  at  Borvabost,  and  of  those  poor  people  whom  she 
was  now  going  to  see.  No  sooner  did  he  understand  that 
they  were  emigrants,  and  that  they  were  going  to  Glasgow 
before  leaving  finally  for  America,  than  in  quite  an  honest 
and  enthusiastic  fashion  he  began  to  bewail  the  sad  fate  of 
such  poor  wretches  as  have  to  forsake  their  native  land,  and 
to  accuse  the  aristocracy  of  the  country  of  every  act  of 
selfishness,  and  to  charge  the  Government  with  a  shameful 
indifference.  But  Sheila  brought  him  up  suddenly.  In  the 


42  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

gentlest  fashion  she  told  him  what  she  knew  of  these  poor 
people,  and  how  emigration  affected  them,  and  so  forth,  until 
he  was  ready  to  curse  the  hour  in  which  he  had  blundered 
into  taking  a  side  on  a  question  about  which  he  cared  nothing 
and  knew  less. 

"  But  some  other  time,"  continued  Sheila,  "  I  will  tell  you 
what  we  do  here,  and  I  will  show  you  a  great  many  letters  I 
have  from  friends  of  mine  who  have  gone  to  Greenock,  and 
to  New  York,  and  Canada.  Oh  yes,  it  is  very  bad  for  the 
old  people — they  never  get  reconciled  to  the  change — never ; 
but  it  is  very  good  for  the  young  people,  and  they  are  glad  of 
it,  and  are  much  better  off  than  they  were  here.  You  will 
see  how  proud  they  are  of  the  better  clothes  they  have,  and  of 
good  food,  and  money  to  put  in  the  bank  ;  and  how  could 
they  get  that  in  the  Highlands,  where  the  land  is  so  poor  that 
a  small  piece  is  of  no  use,  and  they  have  not  money  to  rent 
the  large  sheep-farms.  It  is  very  bad  to  have  people  go  away 
— it  is  very  hard  on  many  of  them — but  what  can  they  do  ? 
The  piece  of  ground  that  was  very  good  for  the  one  family, 
that  is  expected  to  keep  the  daughters  when  they  marry,  and 
the  sons  when  they  marry,  and  then  there  are  five  or  six 
families  to  live  on  it.  And  hard  work — that  will  not  do 
much,  with  very  bad  land,  and  the  bad  weather  we  have  here. 
The  people  get  down-hearted  when  they  have  their  crops 
spoiled  by  the  long  rain,  and  they  cannot  get  their  peats 
dried  ;  and  very  often  the  fishing  turns  out  bad,  and  they 
have  no  money  at  all  to  carry  on  the  farm.  But  now  you 
will  see  Borvabost." 

Lavender  had  to  confess  that  this  wonderful  Princess 
would  persist  in  talking  in  a  very  matter-of-fact  way.  All 
the  afternoon,  while  he  was  weaving  a  luminous  web  of  im- 
agination around  her,  she  was  continually  cutting  it  asunder, 
and  stepping  forth  as  an  authority  on  the  growing  of  some 
wretched  plants,  or  the  means  by  which  rain  was  to  be  ex- 
cluded from  window-sills.  And  now,  in  this  strange  twilight, 
when  she  ought  to  have  been  singing  of  the  cruelties  of  the 
sea,  or  listening  to  half -forgotten  legends  of  mermaids — she 
was  engaged  with  the  petty  fortunes  of  men  and  girls  who 
were  pleased  to  find  themselves  prospering  in  the  Glasgow 
police-force  or  educating  themselves  in  a  milliner's  shop  in 
Edinburgh.  She  did  not  appear  conscious  that  she  was  a 


THERE  WAS  A  KING  IN  THVLE  43 

Princess.  Indeed,  she  seemed  to  have  no  consciousness  of 
herself  at  all ;  and  was  altogether  occupied  in  giving  him 
information  about  practical  subjects  in  which  he  professed 
a  profound  interest  he  certainly  did  not  feel. 

But  even  Sheila,  when  they  had  reached  the  loftiest  part 
of  their  route,  and  could  see  beneath  them  the  island  and  the 
water  surrounding  it,  was  struck  by  the  exceeding  beauty  of 
the  twilight ;  and  as  for  her  companion,  he  remembered  it 
many  a  time  thereafter,  as  if  it  were  a  dream  of  the  sea. 
Before  them  lay  the  Atlantic — a  pale  line  of  blue,  still, 
silent,  and  remote.  Overhead,  the  sky  was  of  a  clear,  thin 
gold,  with  heavy  masses  of  violet  cloud  stretched  across  from 
north  to  south,  and  thickening  as  they  got  near  to  the  horizon. 
Down  at  their  feet,  near  the  shore,  a  dusky  line  of  huts  and 
houses  was  scarcely  visible  ;  and  over  these  lay  a  pale  blue 
film  of  peat-smoke  that  did  not  move  in  the  still  air.  Then 
they  saw  the  bay  into  which  the  White  Water  runs,  and  they 
could  trace  the  yellow  glimmer  of  the  river  stretching  into 
the  island  through  a  level  valley  of  bog  and  morass.  Far 
away  towards  the  east,  lay  the  bulk  of  the  island — dark  green 
undulations  of  moorland  and  pasture  ;  and  there  in  the  dark- 
ness, the  gable  of  one  white  house  had  caught  the  clear  light 
of  the  sky,  and  was  gleaming  westward  like  a  star.  But  all 
this  was  as  nothing  to  the  glory  that  began  to  shine  in  the 
south-east,  where  the  sky  was  of  a  pale  violet  over  the  peaks 
of  Mealasabhal  and  Suainabhal.  There,  into  the  beautiful 
dome,  rose  the  golden  crescent  of  the  moon,  warm  in  colour, 
as  though  it  still  retained  the  last  rays  of  the  sunset.  A  line 
of  quivering  gold  fell  across  Loch  Eoag,  and  touched  the 
black  hull  and  spars  of  the  boat  in  which  Sheila  had  been 
sailing  in  the  morning.  That  bay  down  there,  with  its 
white  sands  and  massive  rocks,  its  still  expanse  of  water,  and 
its  back-ground  of  mountain-peaks  palely  coloured  by  the 
yellow  moonlight,  seemed  really  a  home  for  a  magic  princess 
who  was  shut  off  from  all  the  world.  But  here,  in  front  of 
them,  was  another  sort  of  sea,  and  another  sort  of  life — a 
small  fishing-village  hidden  under  a  cloud  of  dim  peat- 
smoke,  and  fronting  the  great  waters  of  the  Atlantic  itself, 
which  lay  under  a  gloom  of  violet  clouds. 

"  Now,"  said  Sheila,  with  a  smile,  "  we  have  not  always 
weather  as  good  as  this  in  the  island.  Will  you  not  sit  on 


44  A  PRINCESS  OF  TtJULE 

the  bench  over  there  with  Mr.  Ingram,  and  wait  until  my 
papa  and  I  come  up  from  the  village  again  ?  " 

"  May  not  I  go  down  with  you  ?  " 

"  No.  The  dogs  would  learn  you  were  a  stranger,  and 
there  would  be  a  great  deal  of  noise,  and  there  will  be  many 
of  the  poor  people  asleep." 

So  Sheila  had  her  way  ;  and  she  and  her  father  went 
down  the  hillside  into  the  gloom  of  the  village,  while 
Lavender  went  to  join  his  friend  Ingram,  who  was  sitting 
on  the  wooden  bench,  silently  smoking  a  clay  pipe. 

"  Well,  I  have  never  seen  the  like  of  this,"  said  Lavender, 
in  his  impetuous  way  ;  "  it  is  worth  going  a  thousand  miles 
to  see !  Such  colours  and  such  clearness — and  then  the 
splendid  outlines  of  those  mountains,  and  the  grand  sweep  of 
the  loch — this  is  the  sort  of  thing  that  drives  me  to  despair, 
and  might  make  one  vow  never  to  touch  a  brush  again.  And 
Sheila  says  it  will  be  like  this  all  the  night  through." 

He  was  unaware  that  he  had  spoken  of  her  in  a  very 
familiar  way  ;  but  Ingram  noticed  it. 

"Ingram,"  he  said,  suddenly,  "that  is  the  first  girl  I 
have  ever  seen  whom  I  should  like  to  marry." 

"  Stuff  ! '/ 

"  But  it  is  true.  I  have  never  seen  anyone  like  her — so 
handsome,  so  gentle,  and  yet  so  very  frank  in  setting  you  right. 
And  then  she  is  so  sensible,  you  know,  and  not  too  proud  to 
have  much  interest  in  all  sorts  of  common  affairs — 

There  was  a  smile  on  Ingram's  face  ;  and  his  companion 
stopped,  in  some  vexation. 

"  You  are  not  a  very  sympathetic  confidant." 

"  Because  I  know  the  story  of  old.  You  have  told  it  me 
about  twenty  women  ;  and  it  is  always  the  same.  I  tell  you, 
you  don't  know  anything  at  all  about  Sheila  Mackenzie  yet ; 
perhaps  you  never  may.  I  suppose  you  will  make  a  heroine 
of  her,  and  fall  in  love  with  her  for  a  fortnight,  and  then  go 
back  to  London  and  get  cured  by  listening  to  the  witticisms 
of  Mrs.  Lorraine." 

"  Well,"  said  the  young  man,  humbly,  "  perhaps  I  have 
given  you  reason  to  mistrust  me  ;  but  you  will  see  by  and 
by  whether  I  am  serious  or  not  this  time." 

"  Some  day,"  Ingram  continued,  "  no  doubt  you  will  love 
a  woman  for  what  she  is,  not  for  what  you  fancy  her  to  be  ; 


THERE  WAS  A  KING  IN  THULE  45 

but  that  is  a  piece  of  good  fortune  that  seldom  occurs  to  a 
youth  of  your  age.  To  marry  in  a  dream,  and  wake  up  six 
months  afterwards — that  is  the  fate  of  ingenuous  twenty- 
three.  But  don't  you  let  Mackenzie  hear  you  talk  of 
marrying  Sheila,  or  he'll  have  some  of  his  fishermen  throw 
you  into  Loch  Eoag." 

"  There,  now,  that  is  one  point  I  can't  understand  about 
her,"  said  Lavender.  "  How  can  a  girl  of  her  shrewdness 
and  good  sense  have  such  a  belief  in  that  humbugging  old 
idiot  of  a  father  of  hers,  who  fancies  me  a  political  emissary, 
and  plays  small  tricks  to  look  like  diplomacy  ?  It  is  always 
'  My  papa  can  do  this,'  and  '  My  papa  can  do  that,'  and 
'  There  is  no  one  at  all  like  my  papa.'  And  she  is  con- 
tinually fondling  him,  and  giving  little  demonstrations  of 
affection,  of  which  he  takes  no  more  notice  than  if  he 
were  an  Arctic  bear." 

Ingram  looked  up  with  some  surprise  in  his  face. 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say,  Lavender,"  he  said,  slowly, 
"  that  you  are  already  jealous  of  the  girl's  own  father  ?  " 

He  could  not  answer,  for  at  this  moment  Sheila,  her 
father,  and  the  big  greyhound  came  up  the  hill.  And  again 
it  was  Lavender's  good  fortune  to  walk  with  Sheila  across 
the  moorland  path  they  had  traversed  some  little  tune  before. 
And  now  the  moon  was  still  higher  in  the  heavens,  and  the 
yellow  lane  of  light  that  crossed  the  violet  waters  of  Loch 
Koag  quivered  in  a  deeper  gold.  The  night  air  was  scented 
with  the  Dutch  clover  growing  down  by  the  shore.  They 
could  hear  the  curlew  whistling,  and  the  plover  calling,  amid 
that  monotonous  plash  of  the  waves  that  murmured  all 
around  the  coast.  When  they  returned  to  the  house,  the 
darker  waters  of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  purple  clouds  of  the 
west,  were  shut  out  from  sight ;  and  before  them  there  was 
only  the  liquid  plain  of  Loch  Roag,  with  its  pathway  of 
yellow  fire,  and  far  away  on  the  other  side  the  shoulders 
and  peaks  of  the  southern  mountains,  that  had  grown  grey, 
and  clear,  and  sharp  in  the  beautiful  twilight.  And  this 
was  Sheila's  home. 


46  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ROMANCE-TIME. 

EARLY  morning  at  Borva,  fresh,  luminous,  and  rare ;  the 
mountains  in  the  south  grown  pale  and  cloud-like  under  a 
sapphire  sky  ;  the  sea  ruffled  into  a  darker  blue  by  a  light 
breeze  from  the  west ;  and  the  sunlight  lying  hot  on  the 
red  gravel  and  white  shells  around  Mackenzie's  house. 
There  is  an  odour  of  sweet-brier  about,  hovering  in  the 
warm,  still  air,  except  at  such  time  as  the  breeze  freshens 
a  bit,  and  brings  round  the  shoulder  of  the  hill  the  cold, 
strange  scent  of  the  rocks  and  the  sea  beyond. 

And  on  this  fresh  and  pleasant  morning,  Sheila  sat  in  the 
big  garden  seat  in  front  of  the  house,  talking  to  the  stranger 
to  whom  she  had  been  introduced  the  day  before.  He  was 
no  more  a  stranger,  however,  to  all  appearance  ;  for  what 
could  be  more  frank  and  friendly  than  their  conversation, 
or  more  bright  and  winning  than  the  smile  with  which  she 
frequently  turned  to  speak  or  to  listen  ?  Of  course  this 
stranger  could  not  be  her  friend  as  Mr.  Ingram  was — that 
was  impossible.  But  he  talked  a  great  deal  more  than 
Mr.  Ingram ;  and  was  apparently  more  anxious  to  please 
and  be  pleased  ;  and,  indeed,  was  altogether  very  winning 
and  courteous  and  pleasant  in  his  ways.  Beyond  this  vague 
impression,  Sheila  ventured  upon  no  comparison  between 
the  two  men.  If  her  older  friend  had  been  down,  she 
would  doubtless  have  preferred  talking  to  him — about  all 
that  had  happened  in  the  island  since  his  last  visit  ;  but 
here  was  this  newer  friend  thrown,  as  it  were,  upon  her 
hospitality,  and  eager,  with  a  most  respectful  and  yet 
simple  and  friendly  interest,  to  be  taught  all  that  Ingram 
already  knew.  Was  he  not,  too,  in  mere  appearance  like 
one  of  the  princes  she  had  read  of  in  many  an  ancient 
ballad — tall,  and  handsome,  and  yellow-haired — fit  to  have 
come  sailing  over  the  sea,  with  a  dozen  merry  comrades, 
to  carry  off  some  sea-king's  daughter  to  be  his  bride  ? 
Sheila  began  to  regret  that  the  young  man  knew  so  little 
about  the  sea,  and  the  northern  islands,  and  those  old 
stories  ;  but  then  he  was  very  anxious  to  learn. 


ROMANCE-TIME  47 

"  You  must  say  Mach-Klyoda  instead  of  Macleod,"  she 
was  saying  to  him,  "  if  you  h'ke  Styornoicay  better  than 
Stornoway.  It  is  the  Gaelic,  that  is  all." 

"  Oh,  it  is  ever  so  much  prettier,"  said  young  Lavender, 
with  a  quite  genuine  enthusiasm  in  his  face,  not  altogether 
begotten  of  the  letter  y ;  "  and  indeed  I  don't  think  you 
can  possibly  tell  how  singularly  pleasant  and  quaint  it  is  to 
an  English  ear  to  hear  just  that  little  softening  of  the  vowels 
that  the  people  have  here.  I  suppose  you  don't  notice  that 
they  say  gyarden  for  garden " 

They  ! — as  if  he  had  paid  attention  to  the  pronunciation 
of  anyone  except  Sheila  herself  ! 

" But  not  quite  so  hard  as  I  pronounce  it.  And  so 

with  a  great  many  other  words — that  are  softened,  and 
sweetened,  and  made  almost  poetical  in  their  sound  by  the 
least  bit  of  inflection.  How  surprised  and  pleased  English 
ladies  would  be  to  hear  you  speak.  Oh,  I  beg  your  pardon 
— I  did  not  mean  to 1 — I  beg  your  pardon " 

Sheila  seemed  a  little  astonished  by  her  companion's 
evident  mortification,  and  said,  with  a  smile — 

"  If  others  speak  so  in  the  island,  of  course  I  must  too  ! 
and  you  say  it  does  not  shock  you." 

His  distress  at  his  own  rudeness  now  found  an  easy  vent 
He  protested  that  no  people  could  talk  English  like  the 
people  of  Lewis.  He  gave  Sheila  to  understand  that  the 
speech  of  English  folks  was  as  the  croaking  of  ravens 
compared  with  the  sweet  tones  of  the  northern  isles  ;  and 
this  drew  him  on  to  speak  of  his  friends  in  the  south,  and 
of  London,  and  of  the  chances  of  Sheila  ever  going  thither. 

"  It  must  be  so  strange  never  to  have  seen  London,"  he 
said.  "  Don't  you  ever  dream  of  what  it  is  like  ?  Don't 
you  ever  try  to  think  of  a  great  space,  nearly  as  big  as  this 
island,  all  covered  over  with  large  houses — the  roads  between 
the  houses  all  made  of  stone — and  great  bridges  going  over 

the  river,  with  railway  trains  standing By  the  way, 

you  have  never  seen  a  railway  engine  !  " 

He  looked  at  her  for  a  moment  in  astonishment,  as  if  he 
had  not  hitherto  realized  to  himself  the  absolute  ignorance 
of  this  remote  Princess.  Sheila,  with  some  little  touch  of 
humour  appearing  in  her  calm  eyes,  said — 

"  But  I  am  not  quite  ignorant  of  all  these  things.    I 


48  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

have  seen  pictures  of  them,  and  my  papa  has  described 
them  to  me  so  often  that  I  will  feel  as  if  I  had  seen  them 
all,  and  I  do  not  think  I  should  be  surprised — except, 
perhaps,  by  the  noise  of  the  big  towns.  It  was  many  a 
time  my  papa  told  me  of  that ;  but  he  says  I  cannot  under- 
stand it,  nor  the  great  distance  of  land  you  travel  over  to 
get  to  London.  That  is  what  I  do  not  wish  to  see — I  was 
often  thinking  of  it,  and  that  to  pass  so  many  places  that 
you  do  not  know  would  make  you  very  sad." 

"  That  can  be  easily  avoided,"  he  said,  lightly.  "  When 
you  go  to  London,  you  must  go  from  Glasgow  or  Edinburgh 
in  a  night  train,  and  fall  fast  asleep,  and  in  the  morning 
you  will  find  yourself  in  London,  without  having  seen 
anything." 

"  Just  as  if  one  had  gone  across  a  great  distance  of  sea, 
and  come  to  another  island  you  will  never  see  before,"  said 
Sheila,  with  the  grey-blue  eyes,  under  the  black  eyelashes, 
grown  strange  and  distant. 

"  But  you  must  not  think  of  it  as  a  melancholy  thing," 
he  said,  almost  anxiously.  "  You  will  find  yourself  among 
all  sorts  of  gaieties  and  amusements  ;  you  will  have  cheerful 
people  around  you,  and  plenty  of  things  to  see ;  you  will 
drive  in  beautiful  parks,  and  go  to  theatres,  and  meet  people 
in  large  and  brilliant  rooms,  filled  with  flowers,  and  silver, 
and  light.  And  all  through  the  winter,  that  must  be  so  cold 
and  dark  up  here,  you  will  find  abundance  of  warmth  and 
light,  and  plenty  of  flowers,  and  every  sort  of  pleasant  thing. 
You  will  hear  no  more  of  those  songs  about  drowned  people  ; 
and  you  will  no  longer  be  afraid  of  the  storms,  or  listen  to 
the  waves  at  night ;  and  by  and  by,  when  you  have  got 
quite  accustomed  to  London,  and  got  a  great  many  friends, 
you  might  be  disposed  to  stay  there  altogether ;  and  you 
would  grow  to  think  of  this  island  as  a  desolate  and  melan- 
choly place,  and  never  seek  to  come  back." 

The  girl  rose  suddenly,  and  turned  to  a  fuchsia-tree, 
pretending  to  pick  some  of  its  flowers.  Tears  had  sprung 
to  her  eyes  unbidden ;  and  it  was  in  rather  an  uncertain 
voice  that  she  said,  still  managing  to  conceal  her  face — 

"  I  like  to  hear  you  talk  of  those  places  ;  but — but  I  will 
never  leave  Borva." 

What  possible  interest  could  he  have  in  combating  this 


ROMANCE-TIME  49 

decision  so  anxiously,  almost  so  imploringly  ?  He  renewed 
his  complaints  against  the  melancholy  of  the  sea,  and  the 
dreariness  of  the  northern  winters.  He  described  again  and 
again  the  brilliant  lights  and  colours  of  town-life  in  the 
South.  As  a  mere  matter  of  experience  and  education  she 
ought  to  go  to  London  ;  and  had  not  her  papa  as  good  as 
intimated  his  intention  of  taking  her  ? 

In  the  midst  of  these  representations  a  step  was  heard  in 
the  hall,  and  then  the  girl  looked  round  with  a  bright  light 
on  her  face. 

"  Well,  Sheila  ?  "  said  Ingram,  according  to  his  custom  ; 
and  both  the  girl's  hands  were  in  his  the  next  minute. 
"  You  are  down  early.  What  have  you  been  about  ?  Have 
you  been  telling  Mr.  Lavender  of  the  Black  Horse  of  Loch 
Suainabhal  ?  " 

"  No  ;  Mr.  Lavender  has  been  telling  me  of  London." 

"  And  I  have  been  trying  to  induce  Miss  Mackenzie  to  pay 
us  a  visit,  so  that  we  may  show  her  the  difference  between 
a  city  and  an  island.  But  all  to  no  purpose.  Miss  Mackenzie 
seems  to  like  hard  winters,  and  darkness,  and  cold  :  and  as 
for  that  perpetual  and  melancholy  sea,  that  in  the  winter- 
time I  should  fancy  might  drive  anybody  into  a  lunatic 
asylum " 

"  Ah,  you  must  not  talk  badly  of  the  sea,"  said  the  girl, 
with  all  her  courage  and  brightness  returned  to  her  face. 
"  It  is  our  very  good  friend.  It  gives  us  food,  and  keeps 
many  people  alive.  It  carries  the  lads  away  to  other  places, 
and  brings  them  back  with  money  in  their  pockets " 

"  And  sometimes  it  smashes  a  few  of  them  on  the  rocks, 
or  swallows  up  a  dozen  families,  and  the  next  morning  it  is 
as  smooth  and  fair  as  if  nothing  had  happened." 

"  But  that  is  not  the  sea  at  all,"  said  Sheila  ;  "  that  is 
the  storms  that  will  wreck  the  boats  ;  and  how  can  the  sea 
help  that  ?  When  the  sea  is  let  alone  the  sea  is  very  good 
to  us." 

Ingram  laughed  aloud,  and  patted  the  girl's  head  fondly  ; 
and  Lavender,  blushing  a  little,  confessed  he  was  beaten, 
and  that  he  would  never  again,  in  Miss  Mackenzie's  presence, 
say  anything  against  the  sea. 

The  King  of  Borva  now  appearing,  they  all  went  in  to 
breakfast ;  and  Sheila  sat  opposite  the  window,  so  that  all  the 


50  A  PRINCESS  OF  TH.ULE 

light  coming  in  from  the  clear  sky  and  the  sea  was  reflected 
upon  her  face,  and  lit  up  every  varying  expression  that  crossed 
it,  or  that  shone  up  in  the  beautiful  deeps  of  her  eyes.  Laven- 
der, his  own  face  in  shadow,  could  look  at  her  from  time  to 
time  himself  unseen  ;  and  as  he  sate  in  almost  absolute 
silence,  and  noticed  how  she  talked  with  Ingram,  and  what 
deference  she  paid  him,  and  how  anxious  she  was  to  please 
him,  he  began  to  wonder  if  he  should  ever  be  admitted  to  a 
like  friendship  with  her.  It  was  so  strange,  too,  that  this 
handsome,  proud-featured,  proud-spirited  girl  should  so 
devote  herself  to  the  amusement  of  a  man  like  Ingram ; 
and  forgetting  all  the  court  that  should  have  been  paid  to 
a  pretty  woman,  seem  determined  to  persuade  him  that  he 
was  conferring  a  favour  upon  her  by  every  word  and  look. 
Of  course,  Lavender  admitted  to  himself,  Ingram  was  a 
very  good  sort  of  fellow — a  very  good  sort  of  fellow  indeed. 
If  anyone  was  in  a  scrape  about  money,  Ingram  would 
come  to  the  rescue  without  a  moment's  hesitation  ;  although 
the  salary  of  a  clerk  in  the  Board  of  Trade  might  have  been 
made  the  excuse,  by  any  other  man,  for  a  very  justifiable 
refusal.  He  was  very  clever,  too — had  read  much,  and  all 
that  kind  of  thing.  But  he  was  not  the  sort  of  man  you 
might  expect  to  get  on  well  with  women.  Unless  with 
very  intimate  friends,  he  was  a  trifle  silent  and  reserved. 
Often  he  was  inclined  to  be  pragmatic  and  sententious  ;  and 
had  a  habit  of  saying  unpleasantly  bitter  things,  when  some 
careless  joke  was  being  made.  He  was  a  little  dingy  in 
appearance  ;  and  a  man  who  had  a  somewhat  cold  manner, 
who  was  sallow  of  face,  who  was  obviously  getting  grey,  and 
who  was  generally  insignificant  in  appearance,  was  not  the 
sort  of  man,  one  would  think,  to  fascinate  an  exceptionally 
handsome  girl,  who  had  brains  enough  to  know  the  fine- 
ness of  her  own  face.  But  here  was  this  Princess  paying 
attentions  to  him  such  as  must  have  driven  a  more  im- 
pressionable man  out  of  his  senses  ;  while  Ingram  sat  quiet 
and  pleased,  sometimes  making  fun  of  her,  and  generally 
talking  to  her  as  if  she  were  a  child.  Sheila  had  chatted 
very  pleasantly  with  him,  Lavender,  in  the  morning  ;  but 
it  was  evident  that  her  relations  with  Ingram  were  of  a  very 
different  kind,  such  as  he  could  not  well  understand.  For 
it  was  scarcely  possible  that  she  could  be  in  love  with 


ROMANCE-TIME  51 

Ingram  ;  and  yet  surely  the  pleasure .  that  dwelt  in  her 
expressive  face  when  she  spoke  to  him,  or  listened  to  him, 
was  not  the  result  of  a  mere  friendship. 

If  Lavender  had  been  told  at  that  moment  that  these  two 
were  lovers,  and  that  they  were  looking  forward  to  an  early 
marriage,  he  would  have  rejoiced  with  an  enthusiasm  of  joy. 
He  would  have  honestly  and  cordially  shaken  Ingram  by 
the  hand  ;  he  would  have  made  plans  for  introducing  the 
young  bride  to  all  the  people  he  knew  ;  and  he  would  have 
gone  straight  off,  on  reaching  London,  to  buy  Sheila  a 
magnificent  bracelet,  even  if  he  had  to  borrow  the  money 
from  Ingram  himself. 

"  And  have  you  got  rid  yet  of  the  Airgiod-cearc,*  Sheila  ?  " 
said  Ingram,  suddenly  breaking  in  upon  these  dreams  ;  "  or 
does  every  owner  of  hens  still  pay  his  annual  shilling  to  the 
Lord  of  Lewis  ? " 

"  It  is  not  away  yet,"  said  the  girl, "  but  when  Sir  James 
comes  in  the  autumn,  I  will  go  over  to  Stornoway,  and  ask 
him  to  take  away  the  tax,  and  I  know  he  will  do  it,  for  what 
is  the  shilling  worth  to  him,  when  he  has  spent  thousands 
and  thousands  of  pounds  on  the  Lewis  ?  But  it  will  be 
very  hard  on  some  of  the  poor  people  that  only  keep  one  or 
two  hens  ;  and  I  will  tell  Sir  James  of  all  that " 

"  You  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind,  Sheila,"  said  her  father, 
impatiently.  "  What  is  the  Airgiod-cearc  to  you,  that  you 
will  go  over  to  Stornoway  only  to  be  laughed  at,  and  make  a 
fool  of  yourself  ?  " 

"  That  is  nothing,  not  anything  at  all,"  said  the  girl,  "  if 
Sir  James  will  only  take  away  the  tax." 

"  Why,  Sheila,  they  would  treat  you  as  another  Lady 
Godiva,"  said  Ingram,  with  a  good-humoured  smile. 

"  But  Miss  Mackenzie  is  quite  right,"  exclaimed  Lavender, 
with  a  sudden  flush  of  colour  leaping  into  his  handsome  face, 
and  an  honest  glow  of  admiration  into  his  eyes  ;  "  I  think 
it  is  a  very  noble  thing  for  her  to  do,  and  nobody,  either  in 
Stornoway  or  anywhere  else,  would  be  such  a  brute  as  to 
laugh  at  her  for  trying  to  help  those  poor  people,  who  have 
not  too  many  friends  and  defenders,  God  knows  !  " 

Ingram  looked  surprised.     Since  when  had  the  young 

*  Pronounced  Argyud-cliark ;  literally,  Hen-money. 

E  2 


$2  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

gentleman  across  the  table  acquired  such  a  singular  interest 
in  the  poorer  classes,  of  whose  very  existence  he  had  for  the 
most  part  seemed  unaware  ?  But  the  enthusiasm  in  his  face 
was  quite  honest ;  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  that.  As  for 
Sheila,  with  a  beating  heart,  she  ventured  to  send  to  her 
champion  a  brief  and  timid  glance  of  gratitude,  which  the 
young  man  observed,  and  never  forgot. 

"  You  will  not  know  what  it  is  all  about,"  said  the  King 
of  Borva,  with  a  peevish  air,  as  though  it  were  too  bad  that 
a  person  of  his  authority  should  have  to  descend  to  petty 
details  about  a  hen-tax.  "  It  is  many  and  many  a  tax  and 
a  due  Sir  James  will  take  away  from  his  tenants  in  the 
Lewis ;  and  he  will  spend  more  money  a  thousand  times 
than  ever  he  will  get  back  ;  and  it  was  this  Airgiod-cearc,  it 
will  stand  in  the  place  of  a  great  many  other  things  taken 
away,  just  to  remind  the  folk  that  they  have  not  their  land 
all  in  their  own  right.  It  is  many  things  you  will  have  to 
do  in  managing  the  poor  people,  not  to  let  them  get  too 
proud,  or  forgetful  of  what  they  owe  to  you ;  and  now 
there  is  no  more  tacksmen  to  be  the  masters  of  the  small 
crofters  ;  and  the  crofters  they  would  think  they  were 
landlords  themselves  if  there  were  no  dues  for  them  to  pay." 

"  I  have  heard  of  those  middle  men  ;  they  were  dreadful 
tyrants  and  thieves,  weren't  they  ?  "  said  Lavender. 

Ingram  kicked  his  foot  under  the  table. 

"  I  mean  that  was  the  popular  impression  of  them — a 
vulgar  error,  I  presume,"  continued  the  young  man,  in  the 
coolest  manner.  "  And  so  you  have  got  rid  of  them  !  Well, 
I  daresay  many  of  them  were  honest  men,  and  suffered  very 
unjustly  in  common  report." 

Mackenzie  answered  nothing,  but  his  daughter  said 
quickly — 

"But  you  know,  Mr.  Lavender,  they  have  not  gone 
away  merely  because  they  cease  to  have  the  letting  of  the 
land  to  the  crofters.  They  have  still  their  old  holdings, 
and  so  have  the  crofters  in  most  cases.  Everyone  now 
holds  direct  from  the  proprietor,  that  is  all." 

"  So  that  there  is  no  difference  between  the  former  tacks- 
man  and  his  serf,  except  the  relative  size  of  their  farms  ?  " 

"Well,  the  crofters  have  no  leases,  but  the  tacksmen 
have,"  said  the  girl,  somewhat  timidly  ;  and  then  she  added, 


ROMANCE-TIME  53 

"  But  you  have  not  decided  yet,  Mr.  Ingram,  what  you  will 
do  to-day.  It  is  too  clear  for  the  salmon-fishing.  Will  you 
go  over  to  Mevaig,  and  show  Mr.  Lavender  the  Bay  of 
Uig,  and  the  Seven  Hunters  ?  " 

"  Surely  we  must  show  him  Borvabost  first,  Sheila,"  said 
Ingram.  "  He  saw  nothing  of  it  last  night,  in  the  dark  ; 
and  I  think,  if  you  offered  to  take  Mr.  Lavender  round  in 
your  boat,  and  show  him  what  a  clever  sailor  you  are,  he 
would  prefer  that  to  walking  over  the  hill." 

"  I  can  take  you  all  round  in  the  boat,  certainly,"  said 
the  girl,  with  a  quick  blush  of  pleasure  ;  and  forthwith  a 
message  was  sent  to  Duncan,  that  cushions  should  be  taken 
down  to  the  Maighdean-mhara,  the  little  vessel  of  which 
Sheila  was  both  skipper  and  pilot. 

How  beautiful  was  the  fair  sea-picture  that  lay  around 
them,  as  the  MaigMwn-mliara  stood  out  to  the  mouth  of 
Loch  Roag  on  this  bright  summer  morning  !  Sheila  sat 
in  the  stern  of  the  small  boat,  her  hand  on  the  tiller.  Bras 
lay  at  her  feet,  his  nose  between  his  long  and  shaggy  paws. 
Duncan,  grave  and  watchful  as  to  the  winds  and  the 
points  of  the  coast,  sat  amidships,  with  the  mainsail  sheet 
held  fast,  and  superintended  the  seamanship  of  his  young 
mistress,  with  a  respectful  but  most  evident  pride.  And  as 
Ingram  had  gone  off  with  Mackenzie  to  walk  over  to  the 
White  Water  before  going  down  to  Borvabost,  Frank 
Lavender  was  Sheila's  sole  companion,  out  in  this  wonder- 
land of  rock,  and  sea,  and  azure  sky. 

He  did  not  talk  much  to  her  ;  and  she  was  so  well  occupied 
with  the  boat  that  he  could  regard  with  impunity  the  shifting 
lights  and  graces  of  her  face  and  ah1  the  wonder  and  winning 
depths  of  her  eyes.  The  sea  was  blue  around  them.  The 
sky  overhead  had  not  a  speck  of  cloud  in  it.  The  white 
sand-bays,  the  green  stretches  of  pasture,  and  the  far  and 
spectral  mountains  trembled  in  a  haze  of  sunlight.  Then 
there  was  ah1  the  delight  of  the  fresh  and  cool  wind,  the 
hissing  of  the  water  along  the  boat,  and  the  joyous  rapidity 
with  which  the  small  vessel,  lying  over  a  little,  ran  through 
the  crisply  curling  waves,  and  brought  into  view  the  newer 
wonders  of  the  opening  sea. 

Was  it  not  all  a  dream — that  he  should  be  sitting  by  the 
side  of  this  Sea-Princess,  who  was  attended  only  by  her 


54  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

deerhound  and  the  tall  keeper  ?  And  if  a  dream,  why 
should  it  not  go  on  for  ever  ?  To  live  for  ever  in  this 
magic  land — to  have  the  Princess  herself  to  carry  him  in  this 
little  boat  into  the  quiet  bays  of  the  islands,  or  out  at  night, 
in  moonlight,  on  the  open  sea — to  forget  for  ever  the  god- 
less South  and  its  social  phantasmagoria,  and  live  in  this 
beautiful  and  distant  solitude,  with  the  solemn  secrets  of 
the  hills  and  the  moving  deep  for  ever  present  to  the 
imagination, — might  not  that  be  something  of  a  nobler 
life  ?  And  some  day  or  other  he  would  take  this  Island- 
Princess  up  to  London,  and  he  would  bid  the  women  that 
he  knew — the  scheming  mothers  and  the  doll-like  daughters 
— stand  aside  from  before  this  perfect  work  of  God.  She 
would  carry  with  her  the  mystery  of  the  sea  in  the  depths 
of  her  eyes  ;  and  the  music  of  the  far  hills  would  be  heard 
in  her  voice  ;  and  all  the  sweetness,  and  purity,  and  bright- 
ness of  the  clear  summer  skies  would  be  mirrored  in  her 
innocent  soul.  She  would  appear  in  London  as  some  wild- 
plumaged  bird,  hailing  from  distant  climes,  and  before  she 
had  lived  there  long  enough  to  grow  sad,  and  have  the 
weight  of  the  city  clouding  the  brightness  of  her  eyes,  she 
would  be  spirited  away  again  into  this  strange  sea-kingdom, 
where  there  seemed  to  be  perpetual  sunshine,  and  the  light 
music  of  waves. 

Poor  Sheila  !  she  little  knew  what  was  expected  of  her,  or 
the  sort  of  drama  into  which  she  was  being  thrown  as  a 
central  figure.  She  little  knew  that  she  was  being  trans- 
formed  into  a  wonderful  creature  of  romance,  who  was  to 
put  to  shame  the  gentle  dames  and  maidens  of  London 
society,  and  do  many  other  extraordinary  things.  But  what 
would  have  appeared  the  most  extraordinary  of  all  these 
speculations,  if  she  had  only  known  of  them,  was  the 
assumption  that  she  would  marry  Frank  Lavender.  That 
the  young  man  had  quite  naturally  taken  for  granted — but, 
perhaps  only  as  a  basis  of  his  imaginative  scenes.  In  order 
to  do  these  things  she  would  have  to  be  married  to  some- 
body ;  and  why  not  to  himself  ?  Think  of  the  pride  he 
would  have  in  leading  this  beautiful  girl,  with  her  quaint 
manners  and  fashion  of  speech,  into  a  London  drawing- 
room.  Would  not  everyone  wish  to  know  her  ?  Would  not 
everyone  listen  to  her  sipging  of  those  Gaelic  songs  ? — for, 


ROMANCE-TIME  55 

of  course,  she  must  sing  well.  Would  not  all  his  artist 
friends  be  anxious  to  paint  her  ?  And  she  would  go  to  the 
Academy  to  convince  the  loungers  there  how  utterly  the 
canvas  had  failed  to  catch  the  light  and  dignity  and  sweet- 
ness of  her  face. 

When  Sheila  spoke  he  started. 

"  Did  you  not  see  it  ?  " 

"  What  ?  " 

"  The  seal ;  it  rose  for  a  moment  just  over  there,"  said 
the  girl,  with  a  great  interest  visible  in  her  eyes. 

The  beautiful  dreams  he  had  been  dreaming  were  con- 
siderably shattered  by  this  interruption.  How  could  a  fairy 
Princess  be  so  interested  in  some  common  animal  showing 
its  head  out  of  the  sea  ?  It  also  occurred  to  him  just  at  this 
moment,  that  if  Sheila  and  Mairi  went  out  in  this  boat  by 
themselves,  they  must  be  in  the  habit  of  hoisting  up  the 
mainsail,  and  was  such  rude  and  coarse  work  befitting  the 
character  of  a  Princess  ? 

"  He  looks  very  like  a  black  man  in  the  water  when  his 
head  comes  up,"  said  Sheila,  "  when  the  water  is  smooth  so 
that  you  will  see  him  look  at  you.  But  I  have  not  told  you 
yet  about  the  Black  Horse  that  Alister-nan-Each  saw  at 
Loch  Suainabhal  one  night.  Loch  Suainabhal,  that  is  in- 
land, and  fresh  water,  so  it  was  not  a  seal ;  but  Alister  was 
going  along  the  shore,  and  he  saw  it  lying  up  by  the  road,  and 
he  looked  at  it  for  a  long  tune.  It  was  quite  black,  and  he 
thought  it  was  a  boat ;  but  when  he  came  near  he  saw  it 
begin  to  move,  and  then  it  went  down  across  the  shore  and 
splashed  into  the  loch.  And  it  had  a  head  bigger  than  a 
horse,  and  quite  black,  and  it  made  a  noise  as  it  went  down 
the  shore  to  the  loch."  , 

"  Don't  you  think  Alister  must  have  been  taking  a  little 
whisky,  Mi.ss  Mackenzie  ?  " 

"  No,  not  that,  for  he  came  to  me  just  after  he  was 
seeing  the  beast." 

"  And  do  you  really  believe  he  saw  such  an  animal  ?  " 
said  Lavender,  with  a  smile. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  the  girl,  gravely.  "  Perhaps  it 
was  only  a  fright  and  he  imagined  he  saw  it ;  but  I  do  not 
know  it  is  impossible  there  can  be  such  an  animal  at  Loch 
Suainabhal.  But  that  is  nothing.  It  is  of  no  consequence. 


56  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

But  I  have  seen  stranger  things  than  the  Black  Horse,  that 
many  people  will  not  believe." 

"  May  I  ask  what  they  are  ?  "  he  said,  gently. 

"  Some  other  time,  perhaps,  I  will  tell  you  ;  but  there  is 
a  great  deal  of  explanation  about  it — and  you  see,  we  are 
going  in  to  Borvabost." 

Was  this,  then,  the  capital  of  the  small  empire  over  which 
the  Princess  ruled  ?  He  saw  before  him  but  a  long  row  of 
small  huts  or  hovels  resembling  beehives,  which  stood  above 
the  curve  of  a  white  bay,  and  at  one  portion  of  the  bay  was 
a  small  creek,  near  which  a  number  of  large  boats,  bottom 
upwards,  lay  on  the  beach.  What  odd  little  dwellings  those 
were  !  The  walls,  a  few  feet  high,  were  built  of  rude  blocks 
of  stone  or  slices  of  turf ;  and  from  those  low  supports  rose 
a  rounded  roof  of  straw,  which  was  thatched  over  by  a 
further  layer  of  turf.  There  were  few  windows,  and  no 
chimneys  at  all — not  even  a  hole  in  the  roof.  And  what 
was  meant  by  the  two  men  who,  standing  on  one  of  the  turf 
walls,  were  busily  engaged  in  digging  into  the  rich  brown 
and  black  thatch  and  heaving  it  into  a  cart  ?  Sheila  had 
to  explain  to  him  that,  while  she  was  doing  everything  in  her 
power  to  get  the  people  to  suffer  the  introduction  of  windows, 
it  was  hopeless  to  think  of  chimneys ;  for  by  carefully 
guarding  against  the  egress  of  the  peat-smoke,  it  slowly 
saturated  the  thatch  of  the  roof,  which,  at  certain  periods  of 
the  year,  was  then  taken  off  to  dress  the  fields,  and  a  new 
roof  of  straw  put  on.  By  this  time  they  had  run  the  Maigh- 
dean-mhara — the  Sea  Maiden — into  a  creek,  and  were 
climbing  up  the  steep  beach  of  shingle  that  had  been  worn 
smooth  by  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic. 

"  And  will  you  want  to  speak  to  me,  Ailasa  ?  "  said  Sheila, 
turning  to  a  small  girl  who  had  approached  her  somewhat 
diffidently. 

She  was  a  pretty  little  thing,  with  a  round  fair  face, 
tanned  by  the  sun,  brown  hair,  and  soft  dark  eyes.  She 
was  bare-headed,  bare-footed,  and  bare-armed  ;  but  she  was 
otherwise  smartly  dressed,  and  she  held  in  her  hand  an  enor- 
mous flounder,  apparently  about  half  as  heavy  as  herself. 

"  Will  ye  hef  the  fesh,  Miss  Sheila  ?  "  said  the  small 
Ailasa,  holding  out  the  flounder,  but  looking  down  all  the 
same. 


ROMANCE-TIME  57 

"  Did  you  catch  it  yourself,  Ailasa  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it  wass  Donald  and  me ;  we  wass  out  in  a  boat, 
and  Donald  had  a  line." 

'*  And  it  is  a  present  for  me  ?  "  said  Sheila,  patting  the 
small  head  and  its  wild  and  soft  hair.  "  Thank  you,  Ailasa. 
But  you  must  ask  Donald  to  carry  it  up  to  the  house  and 
give  it  to  Mairi.  I  cannot  take  it  with  me  just  now,  you 
know." 

There  was  a  small  boy  cowering  behind  one  of  the  up- 
turned boats  ;  and,  by  his  furtive  peepings,  showing  that  he 
was  in  league  with  his  sister.  Ailasa,  not  thinking  that  she 
was  discovering  his  whereabouts,  turned  quite  naturally  in 
that  direction,  until  she  was  suddenly  stopped  by  Lavender, 
who  called  to  her,  and  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket.  But  he 
was  too  late.  Sheila  had  stepped  in,  and  with  a  quick  look, 
which  was  all  the  protest  that  was  needed,  shut  her  hand 
over  the  half-crown  he  had  in  his  fingers. 

"  Never  mind,  Ailasa,"  she  said.  "  Go  away  and  get 
Donald,  and  bid  him  carry  the  fish  up  to  Mairi." 

Lavender  put  the  half-crown  in  his  pocket  in  a  somewhat 
dazed  fashion  :  what  he  chiefly  knew  was  that  Sheila  had 
for  a  moment  held  his  hand  in  hers,  and  that  her  eyes  had 
met  his. 

Well,  that  little  incident  of  Ailasa  and  the  flounder  was 
rather  pleasant  to  him.  It  did  not  shock  the  romantic 
associations  he  had  begun  to  weave  around  his  fair  com- 
panion. But  when  they  had  gone  up  to  the  cottages — 
Mackenzie  and  Ingram  not  yet  having  arrived — and  when 
Sheila  proceeded  to  tell  him  about  the  circumstances  of  the 
fishermen's  lives,  and  to  explain  how  such  and  such  things 
were  done  in  the  fields,  and  in  the  pickling-houses,  and  so 
forth,  Lavender  was  a  little  disappointed.  Sheila  took  him 
into  some  of  the  cottages,  or  rather  hovels,  and  he  vaguely 
knew  in  the  darkness  that  she  sat  down  by  the  low  glow  of 
the  peat-fire,  and  began  to  ask  the  women  about  all  sorts  of 
improvements  in  the  walls  and  windows,  and  gardens,  and 
what  not.  Surely  it  was  not  for  a  Princess  to  go  advising 
people  about  particular  sorts  of  soap  ;  or  offering  to  pay  for 
a  pane  of  glass  if  the  husband  of  the  woman  would  make 
the  necessary  aperture  in  the  stone  wall.  The  picture  of 
Sheila  appearing  as  a  Sea-Princess  in  a  London  drawing- 


58  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

room  was  all  very  beautiful  in  its  way  ;  but  here  she  was  dis- 
cussing as  to  the  quality  given  to  broth  by  the  addition  of  a 
certain  vegetable  which  she  offered  to  send  down  from  her 
own  garden  if  the  cottager  in  question  would  try  to  grow  it. 

"  I  wonder,  Miss  Mackenzie,"  he  said,  at  length,  when 
they  got  outside — his  eyes  dazed  with  the  light,  and  smart- 
ing with  the  peat-smoke — "  I  wonder  you  can  trouble  your- 
self with  such  little  matters  that  those  people  should  find 
out  for  themselves." 

The  girl  looked  up  with  some  surprise. 

"  That  is  the  work  I  have  to  do.  My  papa  cannot  do 
everything  in  the  island." 

"  But  what  is  the  necessity  for  your  bothering  yourself 
about  such  things  ?  Surely  they  ought  to  be  able  to  look 
after  their  own  gardens  and  houses  ?  It  is  no  degradation 
— certainly  not ;  for  anything  you  interested  yourself  in 
would  become  worthy  of  attention  by  the  very  fact  ;  but, 
after  all,  it  seems  such  a  pity  you  should  give  up  your  time 
to  those  commonplace  details " 

"  But  some  one  must  do  it,"  said  the  girl,  quite  inno- 
cently ;  "  and  my  papa  has  no  time.  And  they  are  very 
good  in  doing  what  I  ask  them — everyone  in  the  island." 

Was  this  a  wilful  affectation  ?  he  said  to  himself.  Or 
was  she  really  incapable  of  understanding  that  there  was 
anything  incongruous  in  a  young  lady  of  her  position, 
education,  and  refinement,  busying  herself  with  the  curing 
of  fish  and  the  cost  of  lime  ?  He  had  himself  marked  the 
incongruity  long  ago,  when  Ingram  had  been  telling  him  of 
the  remote  and  beautiful  maiden  whose  only  notions  of  the 
world  had  been  derived  from  literature — who  was  more 
familiar  with  the  magic  land  in  which  Endymion  wandered 
than  with  any  other — and  who,  at  the  same  time,  was  about 
as  good  as  her  father  at  planning  a  wooden  bridge  over  a 
stream.  "When  Lavender  had  got  outside  again — when  he 
found  himself  walking  with  her  along  the  white  beach,  in 
front  of  the  blue  Atlantic — she  was  again  the  Princess  of 
his  dreams.  He  looked  at  her  face,  and  he  saw  in  her  eyes 
that  she  must  be  familiar  with  all  the  romantic  nooks  and 
glades  of  English  poetry.  The  plashing  of  the  waves  down 
there,  and  the  music  of  her  voice,  recalled  the  sad  legends 
of  the  fishermen  he  hoped  to  hear  her  sing.  But  ever  and 


ROMA  NCE-  TIME  59 

anon  there  occurred  a  jarring  recollection,  whether  arising 
from  a  contradiction  between  his  notion  of  Sheila  and  the 
actual  Sheila,  or  whether  from  some  incongruity  in  himself, 
he  did  not  stop  to  consider.  He  only  knew  that  a  beautiful 
maiden  who  had  lived  by  the  sea  all  her  life,  and  who  had 
followed  the  wanderings  of  Endymion  in  the  enchanted 
forest,  need  not  have  been  so  particular  about  a  method  of 
boiling  potatoes,  or  have  shown  so  much  interest  in  a  pattern 
for  children's  frocks. 

Mackenzie  and  Ingram  met  them.  There  was  the  usual 
"  Well,  Sheila  ?  "  followed  by  a  thousand  questions  about 
the  very  things  she  had  been  inquiring  into.  That  was  one 
of  the  odd  points  about  Ingram  that  puzzled  and  sometimes 
vexed  Lavender  ;  for,  if  you  are  walking  home  at  night,  it 
is  inconvenient  to  be  accompanied  by  a  friend  who  would 
stop  to  ask  about  the  circumstances  of  some  old  crone 
hobbling  along  the  pavement,  or  who  could  linger  on  his 
own  doorstep  to  have  a  chat  with  a  garrulous  policeman. 
Ingram  was  about  as  odd  as  Sheila  herself  in  the  attention 
he  paid  to  those  wretched  cotters  and  their  doings.  He 
could  not  advise  on  the  important  subject  of  broth,  but  he 
would  have  tasted  it  by  way  of  discovery,  even  if  it  had 
been  presented  to  him  in  a  tea-cup.  He  had  already  been 
prowling  round  the  place  with  Mackenzie.  He  had  in- 
spected the  apparatus  in  the  creek  for  hauling  up  the  boats. 
He  had  visited  the  curing-houses.  He  had  examined  the 
heaps  of  fish  drying  on  the  beach.  He  had  drunk  whisky 
with  John  the  Piper,  and  shaken  hands  with  Alister-nan- 
Each.  And  now  he  had  come  to  tell  Sheila  that  the  piper 
was  bringing  down  luncheon  from  Mackenzie's  house  ;  and 
that  after  they  had  eaten  and  drunk  on  the  Avhite  beach 
they  would  put  out  the  Haighdean-mhara  once  more  to  sea, 
and  sail  over  to  Mevaig,  that  the  stranger  might  behold  the 
wondrous  sands  of  the  Bay  of  Uig. 

But  it  was  not  in  consonance  with  the  dignity  of  a  King 
that  his  guests  should  eat  from  off  the  pebbles,  like  so  many 
fishermen  ;  and  when  Mairi  and  another  girl  brought  down 
the  baskets,  luncheon  was  placed  in  the  stern  of  the  small 
vessel,  while  Duncan  got  up  the  sails  and  put  out  from  the 
stone  quay.  As  for  John  the  Piper,  was  he  insulted  at 
having  been  sent  on  a  menial  errand  ?  They  had  scarcely 


60  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

got  away  from  the  shore  when  the  sound  of  the  pipes  was 
wafted  to  them  from  the  hill-side  above,  and  it  was  the 
"  Lament  of  Mackrimmon  "  that  followed  them  out  to  sea — • 

"  Mackrimmon  shall  no  more  return, 
Oh  never,  never  more  return ! " 

— that  was  the  wild  and  ominous  air  that  was  skirling  up 
on  the  hill-side  ;  and  Mackenzie's  face,  as  he  heard  it,  grew 
wroth. 

"  That  teffle  of  a  piper  John !  "  he  said,  with  an  in- 
voluntary stamp  of  his  foot ;  "  what  for  will  he  be  playing 
Cha  till  mi  tuilich  ?  " 

"  It  is  out  of  mischief,  papa,"  said  Sheila  ;  "  that  is  all." 

"  It  will  be  more  than  mischief  if  I  burn  his  pipes,  and 
drive  him  out  of  Borva.  Then  there  will  be  no  more  of 
mischief." 

"It  is  very  bad  of  John  to  do  that,"  said  Sheila  to 
Lavender,  apparently  in  explanation  of  her  father's  anger  ; 
"  for  we  have  given  him  shelter  here,  when  there  will  be  no 
more  pipes  in  all  the  Lewis.  It  was  the  Free  Church 
ministers  they  put  down  the  pipes,  for  there  was  too  much 
wildness  at  the  marriages  when  the  pipes  would  play." 

"And  what  do  the  people  dance  to  now  ?  "  asked  the  young 
gentleman,  who  seemed  to  resent  this  piece  of  paternal 
government. 

Sheila  laughed,  in  an  embarrassed  way. 

"  Miss  Mackenzie  would  rather  not  tell  you,"  said  Ingram. 
"  The  fact  is,  the  noble  mountaineers  of  these  districts  have 
had  to  fall  back  on  the  Jew's-harp.  The  ministers  allow 
that  instrument  to  be  used — I  suppose  because  there  is  a 
look  of  piety  in  the  name.  But  the  dancing  doesn't  get 
very  mad  when  you  have  two  or  three  young  fellows  play- 
ing a  strathspey  on  a  bit  of  trembling  wire." 

"  That  teffle  of  a  piper  John  !  "  growled  Mackenzie,  once 
more  ;  and  so  the  Maighdean-mhara  lightly  sped  on  her 
way,  opening  out  the  various  headlands  of  the  islands,  until 
at  last  she  got  into  the  narrows  by  Eilean-Aird-Meinish, 
and  ran  up  the  long  arm  of  the  sea  to  Mevaig. 

They  landed,  and  went  up  the  rocks.  They  passed  one 
or  two  small  white  houses,  overlooking  the  still,  green  waters 
of  the  sea  ;  and  then,  following  the  line  of  a  river,  plunged 


ROMANCE-TIME  61 

into  the  heart  of  a  strange  and  lonely  district,  in  which 
there  appeared  to  be  no  life.  The  river-tract  took  them  up 
a  great  glen,  the  sides  of  which  were  about  as  sheer  as  a 
railway-cutting.  There  were  no  trees  or  bushes  about ;  but 
the  green  pasture  along  the  bed  of  the  valley  wore  its 
brightest  colours  in  the  warm  sunlight ;  and  far  up  on  the 
hill-sides,  the  browns  and  crimsons  of  the  heather  and  the 
silver-grey  of  the  rocks  trembled  in  the  white  haze  of  the 
heat.  Over  that  again  the  blue  sky,  as  still  and  silent  as 
the  world  below. 

They  wandered  on,  content  with  idleness  and  a  fine  day. 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  talking,  with  some  little  emphasis,  so  that 
Lavender  might  hear,  of  Mr.  John  Stuart  Mill,  and  was 
anxious  to  convey  to  Ingram  that  a  wise  man,  who  is 
responsible  for  the  well-being  of  his  fellow-creatures,  will 
study  all  sides  of  all  questions,  however  dangerous.  Sheila 
was  doing  her  best  to  entertain  the  stranger  ;  and  he,  in  a 
dream  of  his  own,  was  listening  to  the  information  she  gave 
him.  How  much  of  it  did  he  carry  away  ?  He  was  told 
that  the  grey-goose  built  its  nest  in  the  rushes  at  the  edge 
of  lakes.  Sheila  knew  several  nests  in  Borva.  Sheila  also 
caught  the  young  of  the  wild  duck  when  the  mother  was 
guiding  them  down  the  hill-rivulets  to  the  sea.  She  had 
tamed  many  of  them,  catching  them  thus  before  they  could 
fly.  The  names  of  most  of  the  mountains  about  here  ended 
in  bhal,  which  was  a  Gaelic  corruption  of  the  Norse  flail,  a 
mountain.  There  were  many  Norse  names  all  through  the 
Lewis,  but  more  particularly  towards  the  Butt.  The  termi- 
nation lost,  for  example,  at  the  end  of  many  words,  meant 
an  inhabitated  place  ;  but  she  fancied  lost  was  Danish. 
And  did  Mr.  Lavender  know  of  the  legend  connected  with 
the  air  of  Cha  till,  cha  till  mi  tmlich  ? 

Lavender  started  as  from  a  trance,  with  an  impression  that 
he  had  been  desperately  rude.  He  was  about  to  say  that 
the  grey  gosling  in  the  legend  could  not  speak  Scandinavian, 
when  he  was  interrupted  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  turning  and 
asking  him  if  he  knew  from  what  ports  the  English  smacks 
hailed  that  came  up  hither  to  the  cod  and  the  ling  fishing  for 
a  couple  of  months  in  the  autumn  ?  The  young  man  said 
he  did  not  know  :  there  were  many  fishermen  at  Brighton. 
And  when  the  King  of  Borva  turned  to  Ingram,  to  see 


62  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

why  he  was  shouting  with  laughter,  Miss  Sheila  suddenly 
announced  to  the  party  that  before  them  lay  the  great  Bay 
of  Uig. 

It  was  certainly  a  strange  and  impressive  scene.  They 
stood  on  the  top  of  a  lofty  range  of  hill,  and  underneath 
them  lay  a  vast  semicircle,  miles  in  extent,  of  gleaming  white 
sand,  that  had  in  bygone  ages  been  washed  in  by  the  Atlantic. 
Into  this  vast  plain  of  silver  whiteness,  the  sea,  entering  by 
a  somewhat  narrow  portal,  stretched  in  long  arms  of  a  pale 
blue.  Elsewhere,  the  great  crescent  of  sand  was  surrounded 
by  a  low  line  of  rocky  hill,  showing  a  thousand  tints  of  olive- 
green,  and  grey,  and  heather-purple  ;  and  beyond  that  again 
rose  the  giant  bulk  of  Mealasabhal — grown  wan  in  the  heat 
— into  the  southern  sky.  There  was  not  a  ship  visible  along 
the  azure  plain  of  the  Atlantic.  The  only  human  habitation 
to  be  seen  in  the  strange  world  beneath  them  was  a  solitary 
manse.  But  away  towards  the  summit  of  Mealasabhal  two 
specks  slowly  circled  in  the  air,  which  Sheila  thought  were 
eagles ;  and  far  out  on  the  western  sea,  lying  like  dusty 
whales  in  the  vague  blue,  were  the  Flannen  islands — the 
remote  and  unvisited  Seven  Hunters,  whose  only  inhabitants 
are  certain  flocks  of  sheep  belonging  to  dwellers  on  the 
mainland  of  Lewis. 

The  travellers  sat  down  on  a  low  block  of  gneiss,  to  rest 
themselves  ;  and  then  and  there  did  the  King  of  Borva 
recite  his  grievances  and  rage  against  the  English  smacks. 
Was  it  not  enough  that,  they  should  in  passing  steal  the 
sheep,  but  that  they  should  also,  in  mere  wantonness,  stalk 
them  as  deer,  wounding  them  with  rifle-bullets,  and  leaving 
them  to  die  among  the  rocks  ?  Sheila  said  bravely  that  no 
one  could  tell  that  it  was  the  English  fishermen  who  did 
that.  Why  not  the  crews  of  merchant  vessels,  who  might 
be  of  any  nation  ?  It  was  unfair  to  charge  upon  any  body 
of  men  such  a  despicable  act,  when  there  was  no  proof  of  it 
whatever. 

"  Why,  Sheila,"  said  Ingrain,  with  some  surprise,  "  you 
never  doubted  before  that  it  was  the  English  smacks  that 
killed  the  sheep." 

Sheila  cast  down  her  eyes,  and  said  nothing. 

Was  the  sinister  prophecy  of  John  the  Piper  to  be  fulfilled  ? 
Mackenzie  was  so  much  engaged  in  expounding  politics  to 


ROMANCE-TIME  63 

Ingram,  and  Sheila  was  so  proud  to  show  her  companion  all 
the  wonders  of  Uig,  that,  when  they  returned  to  Mevaig  in 
the  evening,  the  wind  had  altogether  gone  down,  and  the  sea 
was  as  a  sea  of  glass.  But  if  John  the  Piper  had  been  ready 
to  foretell  for  Mackenzie  the  fate  of  Mackrimmon,  he  had 
taken  means  to  defeat  destiny  by  bringing  over  from 
Borvabost  a  large  and  heavy  boat  pulled  by  six  rowers. 
These  were  not  strapping  young  fellows,  clad  in  the  best 
blue  cloth  to  be  got  in  Stornoway,  but  elderly  men,  grey, 
wrinkled,  weather-beaten,  and  hard  of  face,  who  sat  stolidly 
in  the  boat  and  listened  with  a  sort  of  bovine  gaze  to  the 
old  hunchback's  wicked  stories  and  jokes.  John  was  in  a 
mischievous  mood  ;  but  Lavender,  in  a  confidential  whisper, 
informed  Sheila  that  her  father  would  speedily  be  avenged 
on  the  inconsiderate  piper. 

"  Come,  men,  sing  us  a  song,  quick  !  "  said  Mackenzie,  as 
the  party  took  their  seats  in  the  stern,  and  the  great  oars 
splashed  into  the  sea  of  gold.  "  Look  sharp,  John — and  no 
teffle  of  a  drowning  song  !  " 

In  a  shrill,  high,  querulous  voice,  the  piper,  who  was  him- 
self pulling  one  of  the  two  stroke  oars,  began  to  sing  ;  and 
then  the  men  behind  him,  gathering  courage,  joined  in  an 
octave  lower,  their  voices  being  even  more  uncertain  and 
lugubrious  than  his  own.  These  poor  fishermen  had  not 
had  the  musical  education  of  Clan-Alpine's  warriors.  The 
performance  was  not  enlivening ;  and  as  the  monotonous 
and  melancholy  sing-song  that  kept  time  to  the  oars  told  its 
story  in  Gaelic,  all  that  the  English  strangers  could  make 
out  was  an  occasional  reference  to  Jura,  or  Scarba,  or  Isla. 
It  was,  indeed,  the  song  of  an  exile  shut  up  in  "  seaworn 
Mull,"  who  was  complaining  of  the  wearisome  look  of  the 
neighbouring  islands. 

"  But  why  do  you  sing  such  Gaelic  as  that,  John  ?  "  said 
young  Lavender,  confidently.  "  I  should  have  thought  a 
man  in  your  position — the  last  of  the  Hebridean  bards — 
would  have  known  the  classical  Gaelic.  Don't  you  know 
the  classical  Gaelic  ?  " 

"  There  iss  only  the  wan  sort  of  Kallic,  and  it  iss  a  ferry 
goot  sort  of  Kallic,"  said  the  piper,  with  some  show  of 
petulance. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  you  don't  know  your  own 


64  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

tongue  ?  Do  you  not  know  what  the  greatest  of  all  the 
bards  wrote  about  your  own  island  ? — 0  et  presidium  et 
dulce  decus  meum,  agus,  Tityre  tu  patulae  recubans  sub 
tegmine  Styornoivay,  Arma  virumque  cano,  MacTdyoda  et 
Borvabost  sub  tegmine  fagi  ?  " 

Not  only  John  the  Piper,  but  all  the  men  behind  him, 
began  to  look  amazed  and  sorely  troubled  ;  and  all  the  more 
so  that  Ingram — who  had  picked  up  more  Gaelic  words  than 
his  friend — came  to  his  assistance,  and  began  to  talk  to  him 
in  this  unknown  tongue.  They  heard  references  in  the 
conversation  to  persons  and  things  with  which  they  were 
familiar  in  their  own  language,  but  still  accompanied  by 
much  more  they  could  not  understand.  The  men  now  began 
to  whisper  awe-stricken  questions  to  each  other  ;  and  at  last 
John  the  Piper  could  not  restrain  his  curiosity. 

"  What  in  ta  name  of  Kott  is  tat  sort  of  Kallic  ?  "  he 
asked,  with  some  look  of  fear  in  his  eyes. 

"  You  are  not  much  of  a  student,  John,"  said  Lavender 
carelessly,  "  but  still  a  man  in  your  position  should  know 
something  of  your  own  language.  A  bard,  a  poet,  and  not 
know  the  classical  form  of  your  own  tongue  !  " 

"  Is  it  ta  Welsh  Kallic  ?  "  cried  John,  in  desperation  ; 
for  he  knew  that  the  men  behind  him  would  carry  the  story 
of  his  ignorance  all  over  Borvabost. 

"  The  Welsh  Gaelic  I  No.  I  see  you  will  have  to  go  to 
school  again." 

"  There  iss  no  more  Kallic  in  ta  schools,"  said  the  Piper, 
eagerly  seizing  the  excuse.  "  It  iss  Miss  Sheila ;  she  will 
hef  put  away  all  ta  Kallic  from  ta  schools." 

"  But  you  were  born  half  a  century  before  Miss  Sheila  : 
how  is  it  you  neglected  to  learn  that  form  of  Gaelic  that  has 
been  sacred  to  the  use  of  the  bards  and  poets  since  the  time 
of  Ossian  ?  " 

There  were  no  more  quips  or  cranks  for  John  the  Piper 
during  the  rest  of  the  pull  home.  The  wretched  man  re- 
lapsed into  a  moody  silence,  and  worked  mechanically  at  his 
oar,  brooding  over  this  mysterious  language  of  which  he  had 
not  even  heard.  As  for  Lavender,  he  turned  to  Mackenzie, 
and  begged  to  know  what  he  thought  of  affairs  in  France. 

And  so  they  sailed  back  to  Borvabost,  over  the  still  water 
that  lay  like  a  lake  of  gold.  Was  it  not  a  strange  sight  ta 


ROMANCE-TIME  65 

see  the  Atlantic  one  vast  and  smooth  yellow  plain,  under 
the  great  glow  of  saffron  that  spread  across  the  regions  of 
the  sunset  ?  It  was  a  world  of  light,  unbroken  but  by  the 
presence  of  a  heavy  coaster  that  had  anchored  in  the  bay, 
and  that  sent  a  long  line  of  trembling  black  down  on  the 
perfect  mirror  of  the  sea.  As  they  got  near  the  shore,  the 
portions  that  were  in  shadow  showed  with  a  strange  distinct- 
ness the  dark  green  of  the  pasture  and  the  sharp  outlines  of 
the  rocks  ;  and  there  was  a  cold  scent  of  sea-weed  in  the 
evening  air.  The  six  heavy  oars  splashed  into  the  smooth 
bay.  The  big  boat  was  moored  to  the  quay  ;  and  its 
passengers  landed  once  more  in  Borva.  And  when  they 
turned,  on  their  way  home,  to  look  from  the  brow  of  the 
hill  on  which  Sheila  had  placed  a  garden-seat,  lo  !  all  the 
west  was  on  fire  ;  the  mountains  in  the  south  had  grown 
dark  on  their  eastern  side  ;  and  the  plain  of  the  sea  was  like 
a  lake  of  blood  ;  with  the  heavy  hull  and  masts  of  the 
coaster  grown  large,  and  solemn,  and  distant.  There  was 
scarcely  a  ripple  around  the  rocks.at  their  feet  to  break  the 
stillness  of  the  approaching  twilight. 

So  another  day  had  passed,  devoid  of  adventure  or 
incident.  Lavender  had  not  rescued  his  wonderful  Princess 
from  an  angry  sea,  nor  had  he  shown  prowess  in  slaying  a 
dozen  stags,  nor  in  any  way  distinguished  himself.  To  all 
outward  appearance,  the  relations  of  the  party  were  the  same 
at  night  as  they  had  been  in  the  morning.  But  the  greatest 
crises  of  life  steal  on  us  imperceptibly,  and  have  sometimes 
occurred  and  wound  us  in  their  consequences  before  we 
know.  The  memorable  things  in  a  man's  career  are  not 
always  marked  by  some  sharp  convulsion.  The  youth  does 
not  necessarily  marry  the  girl  whom  he  happens  to  fish  out 
of  a  millpond  :  his  future  life  may  be  far  more  definitely 
shaped  for  him  at  a  prosaic  dinner-table,  where  he  fancies  he 
is  only  thinking  of  the  wines.  We  are  indeed  but  as  children 
seated  on  the  shore,  watching  the  ripples  that  come  in  to 
our  feet ;  and  while  the  ripples  unceasingly  repeat  themselves, 
and  while  the  hour  that  passes  is  but  as  the  hour  before  it, 
constellation  after  constellation  has  gone  by  over  our  heads 
unheeded  and  unseen,  and  we  awake  with  a  start  to  find 
ourselves  in  a  new  day,  with  all  our  former  life  cut  off  from 
us  and  become  as  a  dream. 


66  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

CHAPTER  V. 

SHEILA   SINGS. 

A  KNOCKING  at  Ingram's  door. 

"  Well,  what's  the  matter  ?  " 

"  Will  ye  be  goin  to  ta  fishin',  Mr.  Ingram  ?  " 

"  Is  that  you,  Duncan  ?  How  the  devil  have  you  got 
over  from  Mevaig  at  this  hour  of  the  morning  ?  " 

"  Oh,  there  wass  a  bit  breeze  tis  morning,  and  I  hef 
prought  over  ta  Haighdean-mhara.  And  there  iss  a  very 
goot  ripple  on  ta  water,  if  you  will  tek  ta  other  gentleman 
to  try  for  ta  salmon." 

"  All  right.  Hammer  at  his  door  until  he  gets  up.  I 
shall  be  ready  in  ten  minutes." 

About  half-an-hour  thereafter  the  two  young  men  were 
standing  at  the  front  of  Mackenzie's  house,  examining  the 
enormous  rod  that  Duncan  had  placed  against  the  porch. 
It  was  still  early  morning,  and  there  was  a  cold  wind  blow- 
ing in  from  the  sea  ;  but  there  was  not  a  speck  of  cloud  in 
the  sky,  and  the  day  promised  to  be  hot.  The  plain  of  the 
Atlantic  was  no  longer  a  sheet  of  glass  ;  it  was  rough  and 
grey,  and  far  out  an  occasional  quiver  of  white  showed  where 
a  wave  was  hissing  over.  There  was  not  much  of  a  sea 
on  ;  but  the  heavy  wash  of  the  water  round  the  rocks  and 
sandy  bays  could  be  distinctly  heard  in  the  silence  of  the 
morning. 

And  what  was  this  moving  object  down  there  by  the  shore, 
where  the  Maighdean-mhara  lay  at  anchor  ?  Both  the  young 
men  at  once  recognized  the  glimmer  of  the  small  white 
feather,  and  the  tightly-fitting  rough  blue  dress  of  the  Sea- 
Princess. 

"  Why,  there  is  Sheila  !  "  cried  Ingram.  "  What  in  all 
the  world  is  she  about  at  such  an  hour  ?  " 

At  this  moment  Duncan  came  out,  with  a  book  of  flies  in 
his  hand,  and  he  said,  in  rather  a  petulant  way — 

"  And  it  iss  no  wonder  Miss  Sheila  will  be  out.  And  it 
wass  Miss  Sheila  herself  will  tell  me  to  see  if  you  will  go  to 
ta  White  Water  and  try  for  a  salmon," 

"  And  she  is  bringing  up  something  from  the  boat  :  I 


SHEILA  SINGS  67 

must  go  and  carry  it  for  her,"  said  Lavender,  making  down 
the  path  to  the  shore  with  the  speed  of  a  deer. 

When  Sheila  and  he  came  up  the  hill,  there  was  a  fine 
colour  in  the  girl's  face  from  her  morning's  exertions  ;  but 
she  was  not  disposed  to  go  indoors  to  rest.  On  the  con- 
trary, she  was  soon  engaged  in  helping  Mairi  to  bring  in 
some  coffee  to  the  parlour  ;  while  Duncan  cut  slices  of  ham 
and  cold  beef  big  enough  to  have  provisioned  a  fishing-boat 
bound  for  Caithness.  Sheila  had  had  her  breakfast ;  so 
she  devoted  all  her  time  to  waiting  upon  her  two  guests, 
until  Lavender  could  scarcely  eat,  through  the  embarrass- 
ment produced  by  her  noble  servitude.  Ingram  was  not  so 
sensitive,  and  made  a  very  good  meal  indeed. 

"  Where's  your  father,  Sheila  ?  "  said  Ingram,  when  the 
last  of  their  preparations  had  been  made,  and  they  were 
about  to  start  for  the  river.  "  Isn't  he  up  yet  ?  " 

"  My  father  ?  "  said  the  girl,  with  the  least  possible 
elevation  of  her  eyebrows  ;  "  he  will  be  down  at  Borvabost 
an  hour  ago.  And  I  hope  that  John  the  Piper  will 
not  see  him  this  morning.  But  we  must  make  haste, 
Mr.  Ingram,  for  the  wind  will  fall  when  the  sun  gets 
stronger,  and  then  your  friend  will  have  no  more  of  the 
fishing." 

So  they  set  out,  and  Ingram  put  Sheila's  hand  on  his 
arm,  and  took  her  along  with  him  in  that  fashion,  while  the 
tall  gillie  walked  behind  with  Lavender,  who  was  or  was  not 
pleased  with  the  arrangement.  The  young  man,  indeed, 
was  a  trifle  silent ;  but  Duncan  was  in  an  amiable  and 
communicative  mood,  and  passed  the  time  in  telling  him 
stories  of  the  salmon  he  had  caught  and  of  the  people  who 
had  tried  to  catch  them  and  failed.  Sheila  and  Ingram 
certainly  went  a  good  pace  up  the  hill  and  round  the  sum- 
mit of  it,  and  down  again  into  the  valley  of  the  White 
Water.  The  light  step  of  the  girl  seemed  to  be  as  full  of 
spring  as  the  heather  on  which  she  trod ;  and  as  for  her 
feet  getting  wet,  the  dew  must  have  soaked  them  long  ago. 
She  was  in  the  brightest  of  spirits.  Lavender  could  hear 
her  la  ughing  in  a  low  pleased  fashion  ;  and  then  presently 
her  head  would  be  turned  towards  her  companion,  and  all 
the  light  of  some  humorous  anecdote  would  appear  in  her 
face  and  in  her  eloquent  eyes,  and  it  would  be  Ingrain's 


68 

turn  to  break  out  into  one  of  those  short  abrupt  laughs  that 
had  something  sardonic  in  them. 

But  hark  ! — from  the  other  side  of  the  valley  comes 
another  sound— the  faint  and  distant  skirl  of  the  pipes  ; 
and  yonder  is  the  white-haired  hunchback,  a  mere  speck  in 
a  waste  of  brown  and  green  morass.  What  is  he  playing 
to  himself  now  ? 

"  He  is  a  foolish  fellow,  that  John,"  said  the  tall  keeper  ; 
"  for  if  he  comes  down  to  Borvabost  this  morning,  it  iss 
Mr.  Mackenzie  will  fling  his  pipes  in  ta  sea,  and  he  will  hef 
to  go  away  and  work  in  ta  steamboat.  He  iss  a  ferry 
foolish  fellow  ;  and  it  wass  him  tat  wass  goin'  into  ta  steam- 
boat before,  and  he  went  to  a  tailor  in  Styornoway,  and  he 
said  to  him, '  I  want  a  pair  o'  troosers.'  And  the  tailor  said 
to  him,  '  What  sort  o'  troosers  iss  it  you  will  want  ? '  And 
he  said  to  him,  '  I  want  a  pair  o'  troosers  for  a  steam- 
boat.' A  pair  o'  troosers  for  a  steamboat ! — who  ever 
heard  of  a  steamboat  wantin'  troosers  ?  And  it  wass  him 
tat  went  in  ta  steamboat  with  a  lot  o'  freens  o'  his,  that 
wass  a'  goin'  to  Skye  to  a  big  weddin'  there  ;  and  it  wass  a 
very  bad  passage,  and  when  tey  got  into  Portree,  the 
captain  said  to  him,  '  John,  where  iss  all  your  freens  that 
tey  do  not  come  ashore  ?  '  And  he  said  to  him, '  I  hef  been 
down  below,  sir,  and  four-thirds  o'  ta  whole  o'  them  are  a' 
half-trooned,  and  sick,  and  tead.'  Four-thirds  o'  ta  whole  o' 
them  ! — and  he  iss  just  the  ferry  man  to  laugh  at  every  other 
pody  when  it  iss  a  mistake  you  will  make  in  ta  English." 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Lavender,  "  you  found  it  rather  difficult 
to  learn  good  English  ?  " 

"  Well,  sir,  I  hefna  got  ta  goot  English  yet.  But  Miss 
Sheila  she  has  put  away  all  the  Gaelic  from  the  schools, 
and  the  young  ones  they  will  learn  more  of  ta  good  English 
after  that." 

"  I  wish  I  knew  as  much  Gaelic  as  you  know  English," 
said  the  young  man. 

"  Oh,  you  will  soon  learn.  It  iss  very  easy,  if  you  will 
only  stay  in  ta  island." 

"  It  would  take  me  several  mouths  to  pick  it  up,  I  sup- 
pose ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes — nine  or  six — that  will  do,"  said  Duncan.  "  You 
will  begin  to  learn  ta  name  o'  ta  islands  and  ta  places. 


SHEILA  SINGS  69 

There  now,  as  far  as  you  can  see,  is  ta  Seann  Bheinn — and 
it  means  ta  old  hill.  And  there  is  a  rock  there — it  iss 
Stac-nan-Ba  lg ' ' 

Here  Duncan  looked  rather  perplexed. 

"Yes,"  said  Lavender,  "  what  does  that  mean  ? " 

"It  means — it  means,"  said  Duncan,  in  still  greater 
perplexity,  and  getting  a  little  impatient,  "  it  means — stac, 
tat  iss  a  steep  rock — Stac-nan-Balg — it  means — well,  sir,  it 
is  ower  deep  for  ta  English." 

The  tone  of  mortification  in  which  Duncan  uttered  these 
words  warned  Lavender  that  his  philological  studies  might 
as  well  cease  ;  and,  indeed,  Sheila  and  Ingram  had  by  this 
time  reached  the  banks  of  the  White  Water,  and  were 
waiting  for  Duncan  and  the  majestic  rod. 

It  was  much  too  bright  and  pleasant  a  morning  for  good 
fishing,  but  there  was  a  fair  ripple  on  the  pools  of  the 
stream,  where  ever  and  anon  a  salmon  fresh  run  from  the 
sea  would  leap  into  the  air,  showing  a  gleaming  curve  of 
silver  to  the  sunlight.  The  splash  of  the  big  fish  seemed 
an  invitation  ;  and  Duncan  was  all  anxiety  to  teach  the 
stranger,  who,  as  he  fancied,  knew  nothing  about  throwing 
a  fly.  Ingram  lay  down  on  a  rock  some  little  distance  back 
from  the  banks,  and  put  his  hands  beneath  his  head,  and 
watched  the  operations  going  forward.  But  was  it  really 
Duncan  who  was  to  teach  the  stranger  ?  It  was  Sheila 
who  picked  out  a  fly  for  him.  It  was  Sheila  who  held  the 
rod  while  he  put  it  on  the  line.  It  was  Sheila  who  told  him 
where  the  bigger  salmon  usually  lay — under  the  opposite 
bank  of  the  broad  and  almost  lake-like  pool,  into  which  the 
small  but  rapid  White  Water  came  tumbling  and  foaming 
down  its  narrow  channel  of  rocks  and  stones. 

Then  Sheila  waited  to  see  her  pupil  begin.  He  had 
evidently  a  little  difficulty  about  the  big  double-handed 
rod,  a  somewhat  more  formidable  engine  of  destruction 
than  the  supple  little  thing  with  which  he  had  whipped  the 
streams  of  Devonshire  and  Cornwall.  The  first  cast  sent 
the  fly  and  a  lump  of  line  tumbling  on  to  the  pool,  and 
would  have  driven  the  boldest  of  salmon  out  of  its  wits. 
The  second  pretty  nearly  took  a  piece  out  of  Ingram's  ear, 
and  made  him  shift  his  quarters  with  rapidity.  Duncan 
gave  him  up  in  despair.  .But  the  third  cast  dropped  the 


70  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

fly  with  the  lightness  of  a  feather  in  the  running  waters  of 
the  other  side  of  the  pool ;  and  the  next  second  there  was 
a  slight  wave  along  the  surface — a  dexterous  jerk  with  the 
butt — and  presently  the  line  was  whirled  out  into  the 
jniddle  of  the  pool,  running  rapidly  off  the  reel  from  the 
straining  rod. 

"  Plenty  o'  line,  sir,  plenty  o'  line  !  "  shouted  Duncan,  in 
a  wild  fever  of  anxiety,  for  the  fish  had  plunged  suddenly. 

Ingram  had  come  running  down  to  the  bank.  Sheila 
was  all  excitement  and  interest  as  she  stood  and  watched 
every  slackening  or  tightening  of  the  line  as  the  fish  went 
up  the  pool,  and  down  the  pool,  and  crossed  the  current 
in  his  efforts  to  escape.  The  only  self-possessed  person, 
indeed,  was  Lavender  himself,  who  presently  said — 

"  Miss  Mackenzie,  won't  you  take  the  rod  now  and  have 
the  honour  of  landing  him  ?  I  don't  think  he  will  show 
much  more  fight." 

At  this  moment,  however,  the  line  slackened  suddenly, 
and  the  fish  threw  himself  clean  out  of  the  water,  turning  a 
complete  somersault.  It  was  a  dangerous  moment ;  but  the 
captive  was  well  hooked,  and  in  his  next  plunge  Lavender 
was  admonished  by  Duncan  to  keep  a  good  strain  on  him. 

"  I  will  take  the  second  one,"  Sheila  promised,  "  if  you 
like  ;  but  you  must  surely  land  your  first  salmon  yourself." 

I  suppose  nobody  but  a  fisherman  can  understand  the 
generosity  of  the  offer  made  by  the  young  man.  To  have 
hooked  your  first  salmon — to  have  its  first  wild  rushes  and 
plunges  safely  over — and  to  offer  to  another  the  delight  of 
bringing  him  victoriously  to  bank  !  But  Sheila  knew. 
And  what  could  have  surpassed  the  cleverness  with  which 
he  had  hooked  the  fish,  and  the  coolness  and  courage  he 
showed  throughout  the  playing  of  him,  except  this  more 
than  royal  offer  on  the  part  of  the  young  man  ? 

The  fish  was  losing  strength.  All  the  line  had  been  got 
in  ;  although  the  forefinger  of  the  fisherman  felt  the  pulse 
of  his  captive,  as  it  were,  ready  for  an  expiring  plunge. 
They  caught  occasional  glimpses  of  a  large  dun  body  gliding 
through  the  ruddy  brown  water.  Duncan  was  down  on  his 
knees  more  than  once,  with  the  gaff  in  his  hand,  but  again 
and  again  the  big  fish  would  sheer  off,  with  just  such 
indications  of  power  as  to  make  his  conqueror  cautious.  At 


SHEILA  SINGS  71 

length  he  was  guided  slowly  into  the  bank.  Behind  him 
the  gaff  was  gently  let  into  the  water — then  a  quick  forward 
movement — and  a  fourteen-pounder  was  scooped  up  and 
flung  upon  the  bank,  gaff  and  all.  "  Hurrah  !  "  cried 
Ingram  ;  Lavender  blushed  like  a  school-girl ;  and  Sheila, 
quite  naturally  and  without  thinking,  shook  hands  with 
him,  and  said,  "  I  congratulate  you,"  and  there  was  more 
congratulation  in  her  glad  eyes  than  in  that  simple  little 
gesture. 

It  was  a  good  beginning,  and,  of  course,  the  young  man 
was  very  much  pleased  to  show  Sheila  that  he  was  no  mere 
lily-fingered  idler  about  town.  He  buckled  to  his  work  in 
earnest.  With  a  few  more  casts  he  soon  got  into  the  way 
of  managing  the  big  rod ;  and  every  time  the  fly  fell 
lightly  on  the  other  side  of  the  pool,  to  be  dragged  with 
gentle  jerks  across  the  foaming  current  of  the  stream. 
Ingram  went  back  to  his  couch  on  the  rock.  He  lay  and 
watched  the  monotonous  flinging  back  of  the  long  rod, 
the  light  whistle  of  the  line  through  the  air,  and  the 
careful  manipulation  of  the  fly  through  the  water.  Or  was 
it  something  else  that  he  was  watching — something  that 
awakened  in  his  mind  a  sudden  sense  of  surprise  and  fear, 
and  a  new  and  strange  consciousness  that  he  had  been 
guiltily  remiss  ? 

Sheila  was  wholly  pre-occupied  with  her  companion  and 
his  efforts.  He  had  had  one  or  two  rises,  but  had  struck 
either  too  soon  or  too  late,  until  at  last  there  was  a  terrific 
plunge  and  rush,  and  again  the  line  was  whirled  out.  But 
Duncan  did  not  like  the  look  of  it,  somehow.  The  fish  had 
been  sheering  off  when  it  was  hooked,  and  the  deep  plunge 
at  the  outset  was  ugly. 

"  Now  will  you  take  the  rod  ?  "  said  Lavender  to  Sheila. 

But  before  she  could  answer,  the  fish  had  come  rushing 
up  to  the  surface,  had  thrown  itself  out  of  the  water,  so  that 
it  fell  on  the  opposite  bank.  It  was  a  splendid  creature  ; 
and  Duncan,  despite  his  doubts,  called  out  to  Ingram  to 
slacken  his  hold.  There  was  another  spring  into  the  air, 
the  fish  fell  with  a  splash  into  the  water,  and  the  line  was 
flying  helplessly  aloft,  with  the  rod  grown  straight. 

"  Ay,"  said  Duncan,  with  a  sigh,  "  it  wass  foul-hooked. 
It  wass  no  chance  of  catching  him  whatever," 


72  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Lavender  was  more  successful  next  time,  however,  with 
a  pretty  little  grilse  of  about  half  a  dozen  pounds,  that 
seemed  to  have  in  him  the  spirit  and  fight  of  a  dozen 
salmon.  How  he  rushed  and  struggled,  how  he  plunged 
and  sulked,  how  he  burrowed  along  the  banks,  and  then  ran 
out  to  the  middle  of  the  pool,  and  then  threw  himself  into 
the  air,  with  the  line  apparently  but  not  really  doubling  up 
under  him — all  these  things  can  only  be  understood  by  the 
fisherman  who  has  played  in  a  Highland  stream  a  wild  and 
powerful  little  grilse  fresh  in  from  the  salt-water.  And  it 
was  Sheila  who  held  him  captive — who  humoured  him  when 
he  sulked,  and  gently  guided  him  away  from  dangerous 
places,  and  kept  him  well  in  hand  when  he  tried  to  cross 
the  current,  until,  at  last,  all  the  fierceness  gone  out  of  him, 
he  let  himself  be  tenderly  inveigled  into  the  side  of  the 
pool,  where  Duncan,  by  a  dexterous  movement,  surrounded 
him  with  network  and  placed  his  shining  body  among  the 
bright  green  grass. 

But  Ingram  was  not  so  overjoyed  this  time.  He  compli- 
mented Sheila  in  a  friendly  way  ;  but  he  was  rather  grave, 
and  obviously  did  not  care  for  this  business  of  fishing.  And 
so  Sheila,  fancying  that  he  was  rather  dull  because  he  was 
not  joining  in  the  sport,  proposed  that  he  should  walk  back 
to  the  house  with  her,  leaving  Mr.  Lavender  with  Duncan. 
And  Ingram  was  quite  ready  to  do  so. 

But  Lavender  protested  that  he  cared  very  little  for 
salmon-fishing.  He  suggested  that  they  should  all  go  back 
together.  The  sun  was  killing  the  wind  ;  and  soon  the 
pools  would  be  as  clear  as  glass.  Had  they  not  better  try 
in  the  afternoon,  when,  perhaps,  the  breeze  would  freshen  ? 
And  so  they  walked  back  to  the  house. 

On  the  garden-seat  a  book  lay  open.  It  was  Mill's 
"  Essay  on  Liberty  ; "  and  it  had  evidently  been  left  there 
by  Mr.  Mackenzie — perhaps,  who  knows,  to  hint  to  his 
friends  from  the  South  that  he  was  familiar  with  the 
problems  of  the  age  ?  Lavender  winked  to  Ingram  ;  but 
somehow  his  companion  seemed  in  no  humour  for  a  joke. 

They  had  luncheon  then  ;  and  after  luncheon,  Ingram 
touched  Lavender  on  the  shoulder  and  said — • 

"  I  want  to  have  a  word  with  you  privately.  Let's  walk 
down  to  the  shore." 


SHEILA  SINGS  73 

And  so  they  did ;  and  when  they  had  got  some  little 
distance  from  the  house,  Ingram  said — • 

"  Look  here,  Lavender.  I  mean  to  be  frank  with  you.  I 
don't  think  it  fair  that  you  should  try  to  drag  Sheila 
Mackenzie  into  a  flirtation.  I  knew  you  would  fall  in  love 
with  her — for  a  week  or  two  ;  that  does  not  matter — it 
harms  no  one.  But  I  never  thought  of  the  chance  of  her 
being  led  into  such  a  thing  ;  for  what  is  a  mere  passing 
amusement  to  you  would  be  a  very  serious  thing  to  her." 

"  Well  ? " 

"  Well  ?  Is  not  that  enough  ?  Do  you  think  it  fair  to 
take  advantage  of  this  girl's  ignorance  of  the  world  ?  " 

Lavender  stopped  in  the  middle  of  the  path  and  said — 

"  This  may  be  as  well  settled  at  once.  You  have  talked 
of  flirtation,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  You  may  regard  it 
as  you  please  ;  but  before  I  leave  this  island  I  mean  to  ask 
Sheila  Mackenzie  to  be  my  wife." 

"  Why,  you  are  mad  !  "  cried  Ingram,  amazed  to  see  that 
the  young  man  was  perfectly  serious. 

The  other  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  continued  Ingram,  "  that,  even 
supposing  Sheila  would  consent — which  is  impossible — you 
would  try  to  take  away  that  girl  from  her  father  ?  " 

"  Girls  must  leave  their  fathers  some  time  or  other,"  said 
Lavender,  somewhat  sullenly. 

"  Not  unless  they  are  asked." 

"  Oh,  well,  they  are  sure  to  be  asked,  and  they  are  sure  to 
go.  If  their  mothers  had  not  done  so  before  them,  where 
would  they  be  ?  It's  all  very  well  for  you  to  talk  about  it 
and  argue  it  out,  as  a  theory  ;  but  I  know  what  the  facts  of 
the  case  are,  and  what  any  man  in  my  position  would  do  ; 
and  I  know  that  I  am  careless  of  any  consequences,  so  long 
as  I  can  secure  her  for  my  wife." 

"  Apparently  you  are — careless  of  any  consequences  to 
herself  or  those  about  her." 

"  But  what  is  your  objection,  Ingram  ?  "  said  the  young 
man,  suddenly  abandoning  his  defiant  manner ;  "  why 
should  you  object  ?  Do  you  think  I  should  make  a  bad 
husband  to  the  woman  I  married  ?  " 

"  I  believe  nothing  of  the  sort.  I  believe  you  would  make 
a  very  good  husband,  if  you  were  to  marry  a  woman  whom 


74  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

you  knew  something  about,  and  whom  you  had  really  learned 
to  love  and  respect  through  your  knowledge  of  her.  I  tell 
you,  you  know  nothing  about  Sheila  Mackenzie  as  yet.  If 
you  were  to  marry  her  to-morrow,  you  would  discover  in 
six  months  she  was  a  woman  wholly  different  from  what 
you  had  expected." 

"  Very  well,  then,"  said  Lavender,  with  a  laugh,  "  you 
can't  deny  this  :  you  think  so  much  of  her,  that  the  real 
woman  I  might  discover  must  be  better  than  the  one  I 
imagine  ;  and  so  you  don't  expect  I  shall  be  disappointed  ?  " 

"  If  you  marry  Sheila  Mackenzie,  you  will  be  disappointed 
— not  through  her  fault,  but  your  own.  Why,  a  more 
preposterous  notion  never  entered  into  a  man's  head.  She 
knows  nothing  of  your  friends  or  your  ways  of  life ;  you 
know  nothing  of  hers.  She  would  be  miserable  in  London, 
even  if  you  could  persuade  her  father  to  go  with  her,  which 
is  the  most  unlikely  thing  in  the  world.  Do  give  up  this 
foolish  idea,  like  a  good  fellow — and  do  it  before  Sheila  is 
dragged  into  a  flirtation  that  may  have  the  most  serious 
consequences  to  her." 

Lavender  would  not  promise  ;  but  all  that  afternoon 
various  resolutions  and  emotions  were  struggling  within 
him  for  mastery,  insomuch  that  Duncan  could  not  under- 
stand the  blundering  way  in  which  he  whipped  the  pools. 
Mackenzie,  Sheila,  and  Ingram  had  gone  off  to  pay  a  visit 
to  an  old  crone  who  lived  in  a  neighbouring  island,  and  in 
whom  Ingram  had  been  much  interested  a  few  years  before  ; 
so  that  Lavender  had  an  opportunity  of  practising  the  art 
of  sahn  on-fishing  without  interruption.  But  all  the  skill 
he  had  shown  in  the  morning  seemed  to  have  deserted  him  ; 
and  at  last  he  gave  the  rod  to  Duncan,  and,  sitting  down 
on  a  top-coat  flung  on  the  wet  heather,  indolently  watched 
the  gillie's  operations. 

Should  he  at  once  fly  from  temptation,  and  return  to 
London  ?  Would  it  not  be  heroic  to  leave  this  old  man  in 
possession  of  his  only  daughter  ?  Sheila  would  never  know 
of  the  sacrifice ;  but  what  of  that  ?  It  might  be  for  her 
happiness  that  he  should  go. 

But  when  a  young  man  is  in  love,  or  fancies  himself  in 
love,  with  a  young  girl,  it  is  hard  for  him  to  persuade 
himself  that  anybody  else  can  make  her  as  happy  as  he 


SHEILA  SINGS  75 

might.  "Who  could  be  so  tender  to  her,  so  watchful  over 
her,  as  himself  ?  He  does  not  reflect  that  her  parents  have 
had  the  experience  of  years  in  taking  care  of  her,  while  he 
would  be  a  mere  novice  at  the  business.  The  pleasure  with 
which  he  regards  the  prospect  of  being  constantly  with  her 
he  transfers  to  her,  and  she  seems  to  demand  it  of  him  as  a 
duty  that  he  should  confer  upon  her  this  new  happiness. 

Lavender  met  Sheila  in  the  evening,  and  he  was  yet 
undecided.  Sometimes  he  fancied,  when  their  eyes  met 
unexpectedly,  that  there  was  something  wistful  as  well  as 
friendly  in  her  look  :  was  she,  too,  dreaming  of  the  vague 
possibilities  of  the  future  ?  This  was  strange,  too — that 
after  each  of  those  little  chance  reveries  she  seemed  to  be 
moved  by  a  resolution  to  be  more  than  usually  affectionate 
towards  her  father,  and  would  go  round  the  table  and  place 
her  hand  on  his  shoulder,  and  talk  to  him.  Perhaps  these 
things  were  but  delusions  begotten  of  his  own  imaginings  ; 
but  the  possibility  of  their  being  real  agitated  him  not  a  little, 
and  he  scarcely  dared  to  think  what  might  follow. 

That  evening  Sheila  sang,  and  all  his  half-formed  reso- 
lutions vanished  into  air.  He  sat  in  a  corner  of  the  curious, 
dimly-lit,  and  old-fashioned  chamber,  and,  lying  back  in 
the  chair,  abandoned  himself  to  dreams  as  Sheila  sang  the 
mystic  songs  of  the  northern  coasts.  There  was  something 
strangely  suggestive  of  the  sea  in  the  room  itself  ;  and  all 
her  songs  were  of  the  sea.  It  was  a  smaller  room  than  the 
big  apartment  in  which  they  had  dined  ;  and  it  was  filled 
with  curiosities  from  distant  shores,  and  with  the  rarer 
captures  made  by  the  Borva  fishermen.  Everywhere,  too, 
were  the  trophies  of  Mackenzie's  skill  with  rod  and  rifle. 
Deer's  horns,  seal-skins,  stuffed  birds,  salmon  in  glass  cases, 
masses  of  coral,  enormous  shells,  and  a  thousand  similar 
things  made  the  little  drawing-room  a  sort  of  grotto  ;  but 
it  was  a  grotto  within  hearing  of  the  sound  of  the  sea  ;  and 
there  was  no  musty  atmosphere  in  a  room  that  was  open 
all  day  to  the  cold  winds  of  the  Atlantic. 

With  a  smoking  tumbler  of  whisky  and  water  before  him, 
the  King  of  Borva  sat  at  the  table,  poring  over  a  large 
volume  containing  plans  for  bridges.  Ingram  was  seated  at 
the  piano,  in  continual  consultation  with  Sheila  about  her 
songs.  Lavender,  in  this  dusky  comer,  lay  and  listened, 


76  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

with  all  sorts  of  fancies  crowding  in  upon  him  as  Sheila 
sang  of  the  sad  and  wild  legends  of  her  home.  Was  it  by 
chance,  then,  he  asked  himself,  that  these  songs  seemed  so 
frequently  to  be  the  lamentations  of  a  Highland  girl  for 
a  fair-haired  lover  beyond  the  sea  ?  First  of  all  she  sang 
the  "  Wail  of  Dunevegan  :  "  and  how  strangely  her  voice 
thrilled  with  the  sorrow  of  the  song — 

"  Morn,  oh  mantle  thy  smiles  of  gladness ! 
Night,  oh  come  with  thy  clouds  of  sadness  1 
Earth,  thy  pleasures  to  me  seeni  madness ! 
Macleod,  my  leal  love,  since  thou  art  gone. 

Dunevegan  oh  !  Dunevegan  oh  I 

Dunevegan !  Dunevegan  !  " 

It  was  as  in  a  dream  that  he  heard  Ingram  talking  in  a 
matter-of-fact  way  about  the  various  airs,  and  asking  the 
meaning  of  certain  lines  of  Gaelic  to  compare  them  with  the 
stiff  and  old-fashioned  phrases  of  the  translation.  Surely 
this  girl  must  have  sat  by  the  shore,  and  waited  for  her 
absent  lover,  or  how  could  she  sing  with  such  feeling  ? 

"Say,  my  love,  why  didst  thou  tarry, 

Far  over  the  deep  sea  ? 
Knew'st  thou  not  my  heart  was  weary, 
Heard'st  thou  not  how  I  sighed  for  thee  ? 
Did  no  light  wind  bear  my  wild  despair 

Far  over  the  deep  sea  ?  " 

He  could  imagine  that  beautiful  face  grown  pale  and  wild 
with  anguish.  And  then,  some  day,  as  she  went  along  the 
lonely  island,  with  all  the  light  of  hope  gone  out  of  her  eyes, 
and  with  no  more  wistful  glances  cast  across  the  desolate 
sea,  might  not  the  fair-haired  lover  come  at  last,  and  leap 
ashore  to  clasp  her  in  his  arms,  and  hide  the  wonder-stricken 
eyes  and  the  glad  face  in  his  bosom  ?  But  Sheila  sang  of 
no  such  meeting.  The  girl  was  always  alone ;  her  lover 
gone  away  from  her  across  the  sea  or  into  the  wilds. 

"Oh  long  on  the  mountain  he  tarries,  he  tarries; 

Why  tarries  the  youth  with  the  bright  yellow  hair? 
Oh  long  on  the  mountain  he  tarries,  he  tarries, 

Why  seeks  he  the  hill  when  his  flock  is  not  there?" 

— that  was  what  he  heard  her  sing,  until  it  seemed  to  him 
that  her  singing  was  a  cry  to  be  taken  away  from  these 


SHEILA  SINGS  77 

melancholy  surroundings  of  sea  and  shore,  and  carried  to 
the  secure  and  comfortable  South,  to  be  cherished,  and 
tended,  and  loved.  Why  should  this  girl  be  left  to  live  a 
cruel  life  up  in  these  wilds,  and  to  go  through  the  world 
without  knowing  anything  of  the  happy  existence  that  might 
have  been  hers  ?  It  was  well  for  harder  and  stronger 
natures  to  withstand  the  buffetings  of  wind  and  rain,  and 
to  be  indifferent  to  the  melancholy  influence  of  the  lonely 
sea,  and  the  darkness  of  the  northern  winters  ;  but  for  her 
— for  this  beautiful,  sensitive,  tender-hearted  girl — surely 
some  other  and  gentler  fate  was  in  store.  What  he,  at  least, 
could  do,  he  would.  He  would  lay  his  life  at  her  feet ;  and 
if  she  chose  to  go  away  from  this  bleak  and  cruel  home  to 
the  sunnier  South,  would  not  he  devote  himself,  as  never  a 
man  had  given  himself  to  a  woman  before,  to  the  constant 
duty  of  enriching  her  life  with  all  the  treasures  of  admira- 
tion, and  respect,  and  love  ? 

It  was  getting  late,  and  presently  Sheila  retired.  As  she 
bade  "  Good-night  "  to  him,  Lavender  fancied  her  manner 
was  a  little  less  frank  towards  him  than  usual,  and  her  eyes 
were  cast  down.  All  the  light  of.  the  room  seemed  to  go 
with  her  when  she  went. 

Mackenzie  mixed  another  tumbler  of  toddy,  and  began  to 
expound  to  Ingram  his  views  upon  deer-forests  and  sheep- 
farms.  Ingram  lit  a  cigar,  stretched  out  his  legs,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  listen  with  much  complacent  attention.  As  for 
Lavender,  he  sat  a  while,  hearing  vaguely  the  sounds  of  his 
companions'  voices  ;  and  then,  saying  he  was  a  trifle  tired, 
he  left  and  went  to  his  own  room.  The  moon  was  then 
shining  clearly  over  Suainabhal,  and  a  pathway  of  glimmer- 
ing light  lay  across  Loch  Eoag. 

He  went  to  bed,  but  not  to  sleep.  He  had  resolved  to 
ask  Sheila  Mackenzie  to  be  his  wife  ;  and  a  thousand  con- 
jectures as  to  the  future  were  floating  about  his  imagination. 
In  the  first  place,  would  she  listen  to  his  prayer  ?  She  knew 
nothing  of  nim  beyond  what  she  might  have  heard  from 
Ingram.  If  she  were  to  ask  more,  how  could  Ingram  know 
of  the  seriousness  of  the  new  emotions  and  resolutions  which 
this  brief  visit  to  Lewis  had  crowded  in  on  his  friend  ?  He 
had  had  no  opportunity,  during  their  chance  talking,  of  re- 
vealing to  her  what  he  thought  of  herself  ;  but  might  she 


78  A  PRINCESS  Of  THULE 

not  have  guessed  it  ?  Then  her  father — what  action  might 
not  this  determined  old  man  take  in  the  matter  ?  "Would 
his  love  for  his  daughter  prompt  him  to  consider  her  happi- 
ness alone  ?  All  these  things,  however,  were  mere  pre- 
liminaries ;  and  the  imagination  of  the  young  man  soon 
overleapt  them.  He  began  to  draw  pictures  of  Sheila  as  his 
wife — in  their  London  home,  among  his  friends  at  Hastings, 
at  Ascot,  in  Hyde  Park.  What  would  people  say  of  the 
beautiful  Sea-Princess  with  the  proud  air,  the  fearless  eyes, 
and  the  gentle  and  musical  voice  ?  Hour  after  hour  he  lay, 
and  could  not  sleep — a  fever  of  anticipation,  of  fear,  and  of 
hope  combined,  seemed  to  stir  in  his  blood  and  throb  in  his 
brain.  At  last,  in  a  paroxysm  of  unrest,  he  rose,  hastily 
dressed  himself,  stole  downstairs,  and  made  his  way  out  into 
the  cool  air  of  the  night. 

It  could  not  be  the  coming  dawn  that  revealed  to  him  the 
outlines  of  the  shore,  and  the  mountains,  and  the  loch  ? 
The  moon  had  already  sunk  in  the  south-west ;  not  from 
her  came  that  strange  clearness  by  which  all  these  objects 
were  defined.  Then  the  young  man  bethought  him  of  what 
Sheila  had  said  of  the  twilight  in  these  latitudes ;  and, 
turning  to  the  north,  he  saw  there  a  pale  glow,  which  looked 
as  if  it  were  the  last  faint  traces  of  some  former  sunset. 
All  over  the  rest  of  the  heavens  something  of  the  same 
metallic  clearness  reigned,  so  that  the  stars  were  pale,  and  a 
grey  hue  lay  over  the  sea,  and  over  the  island,  the  white 
bays,  the  black  rocks,  and  the  valleys,  in  which  lay  a 
scarcely  perceptible  mist. 

He  left  the  house  and  went  vaguely  down  to  the  sea.  The 
cold  air,  scented  strongly  with  the  sea-weed,  blew  about  him, 
and  was  sweet  and  fresh  on  the  lips  and  the  forehead.  How 
strange  was  the  monotonous  sound  of  the  waves — mournful 
and  distant,  like  the  sound  in  a  sea-shell !  That  alone  spoke 
in  |the  awful  stillness  of  the  night ;  and  it  seemed  to  be 
telling  of  those  things  which  the  silent  stars  and  the  silent 
hills  had  looked  down  on  for  ages  and  ages.  Did  Sheila 
really  love  this  terrible  thing,  with  its  strange  voice  talking 
in  the  night,  or  did  she  not  secretly  dread  it,  and  shudder 
at  it,  when  she  sang  of  all  that  old  sadness  ?  There  was 
ringing  in  his  ears  the  "  Wail  of  Dunevegan,"  as  he  listened 
for  a  while  to  the  melancholy  plashing  of  the  waves  all 


SHEILA  SINGS  79 

around  the  lonely  shores  ;  and  there  was  a  cry  of  "  Dune- 
vegan,  oh  !  Dunevegan,  oh  !  "  weaving  itself  curiously  with 
those  wild  pictures  of  Sheila  in  London  which  were  still 
floating  before  his  imagination. 

He  walked  away  around  the  coast,  seeing  almost  nothing 
of  the  objects  about  him,  but  conscious  of  the  solemn  majesty 
of  the  mountains  and  the  stillness  of  the  throbbing  stars. 
He  could  have  called  aloud,  "Sheila  !  Sheila  !  "  but  that  aU 
the  place  seemed  associated  with  her  presence  ;  and  might 
he  not  turn  suddenly  to  find  her  figure  standing  by  him, 
with  her  face  grown  wild  and  pale  as  it  was  in  the  ballad, 
and  a  piteous  and  awful  look  in  her  eyes  ?  Did  the  figure 
accuse  him  ?  He  scarcely  dared  look  round,  lest  there 
should  be  a  phantom  Sheila  appealing  to  him  for  compassion, 
and  complaining  against  him  with  her  speechless  eyes  for  a 
wrong  that  he  could  not  understand.  He  fled  from  her,  but 
he  knew  she  was  there  ;  and  all  the  love  in  his  heart  went 
out  to  her  as  if  beseeching  her  to  go  away,  and  forsake  him, 
and  forgive  him  the  injury  of  which  she  seemed  to  accuse 
him.  What  wrong  had  he  done  her  that  he  should  be 
haunted  by  this  spectre,  that  did  not  threaten,  but  only 
looked  piteously  towards  him,  with  eyes  full  of  entreaty  and 
pain  ? 

He  left  the  shore,  and  blindly  made  his  way  up  to  the 
pasture-land  above,  careless  whither  he  went.  He  knew  not 
how  long  he  had  been  away  from  the  house  ;  but  here  was 
a  small  fresh-water  lake  set  round  about  with  rushes,  and 
far  over  there  in  the  east  lay  a  glimmer  of  the  channels 
between  Borva  and  Lewis.  But  soon  there  was  another 
light  in  the  east,  high  over  the  low  mists  that  lay  along  the 
land.  A  pale  blue-grey  arose  in  the  cloudless  sky,  and  the 
stars  went  out  one  by  one.  The  mists  were  seen  to  lie  in 
thicker  folds  along  the  desolate  valleys.  Then  a  faintly 
yellow  whiteness  stole  up  into  the  sky,  and  broadened  and 
widened,  and  behold !  the  little  moorland  loch  caught  a 
reflection  of  the  glare,  and  there  was  a  streak  of  crimson 
here  and  there  on  the  dark-blue  surface  of  the  water.  Loch 
Roag  began  to  brighten.  Suainabhal  was  touched  with 
rose-red  on  its  eastern  slopes.  The  Atlantic  seemed  to  rise 
out  of  its  purple  sleep  with  the  new  light  of  a  new  dawn  ; 
and  then  there  was  a  chirruping  of  birds  over  the  heath  ; 


8o  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

and  the  first  shafts  of  the  sunlight  ran  along  the  surface  of 
the  sea,  and  lit  up  the  white  wavelets  that  were  breaking  on 
the  beach.  The  new  day  struck  upon  him  with  a  strange 
sense  of  wonder.  Where  was  he  ?  Whither  had  gone  the 
wild  visions  of  the  night,  the  feverish  dread,  the  horrible 
forebodings  ?  The  strong  mental  emotion  that  had  driven 
him  out  now  produced  its  natural  reaction  ;  he  looked  about 
in  a  dazed  fashion  at  the  revelation  of  light  around  him, 
and  felt  himself  trembling  with  weakness.  Slowly,  blindly, 
and  hopelessly,  he  set  to  walk  back  across  the  island,  with 
the  sunlight  of  the  fresh  morning  calling  into  life  ten 
thousand  audible  things  of  the  moorland  around  him. 

And  who  was  this  who  stood  at  the  porch  of  the  house  in 
the  clear  sunshine  ?  Not  the  pale  and  ghastly  creature  who 
had  haunted  him  during  those  wild  hours  ;  but  Sheila  her- 
self, singing  some  snatches  of  a  song,  and  engaged  in  water- 
ing the  two  bushes  of  sweet-brier  at  the  gate.  How  bright, 
and  roseate,  and  happy  she  looked — with  the  fine  colour  of 
her  face  lit  up  by  the  fresh  sunlight ;  and  the  brisk  breeze 
from  the  sea  stirring  now  and  again  the  loose  masses  of  her 
hair.  Haggard  and  faint  as  he  was,  he  would  have  startled 
her  if  he  had  gone  up  to  her  then.  He  dared  not  approach 
her.  He  waited  until  she  had  gone  round  to  the  gable  of 
the  house,  to  water  the  plants  there  ;  and  then  he  stole  in 
by  the  gate,  and  upstairs,  and  threw  himself  upon  the  bed. 
And  outside  he  still  heard  Sheila  singing  lightly  to  herself, 
as  she  went  about  her  ordinary  duties,  little  thinking  in 
how  strange  and  wild  a  drama  her  wraith  had  that  night 
taken  part. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AT  BAEVAS  BRIDGE. 

VERT  soon,  indeed,  Ingram  began  to  see  that  his  friend  had 
spoken  to  him  quite  frankly,  and  that  he  was  really  bent  on 
asking  Sheila  to  become  his  wife.  Ingram  contemplated 
this  prospect  with  some  dismay,  and  with  some  vague 
consciousness  that  he  was  himself  responsible  for  what  he 
could  not  help  regarding  as  a  disaster.  He  had  half  ex- 
pected that  Frank  Lavender  would,  in  his  ordinary  fashion, 


A  T  BARVAS  BRIDGE  8 1 

fall  in  love  with  Sheila — for  about  a  fortnight.  He  had 
joked  him  about  it  even  before  they  came  within  sight 
of  Sheila's  home.  He  had  listened  with  a  grim  humour  to 
Lavender's  outbursts  of  admiration,  and  only  asked  himself 
ho\v  many  times  he  had  heard  the  same  phrases  before.  But 
now  things  were  looking  more  serious  ;  for  the  young  man 
had  thrown  himself  into  the  prosecution  of  his  new  project 
with  all  the  generous  poetic  enthusiasm  of  a  highly  impulsive 
nature.  Ingram  saw  that  everything  a  young  man  could  do 
to  win  the  heart  of  a  young  girl  Lavender  would  do  ;  and 
nature  had  dowered  him  richly  with  various  means  of  fascina- 
tion. Most  dangerous  of  all  these  was  a  gift  of  sincerity  that 
deceived  himself.  He  could  assume  an  opinion,  or  express 
an  emotion  at  will,  with  such  a  genuine  fervour  that  he 
himself  forgot  how  recently  he  had  acquired  it,  and  was  able 
to  convince  his  companion  for  the  moment  that  it  was  a 
revelation  of  his  inmost  soul.  It  was  this  charm  of  impetu- 
ous sincerity  which  had  fascinated  Ingram  himself  years 
before,  and  made  him  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  a  young 
man  whom  he  at  first  regarded  as  a  somewhat  facile,  talka- 
tive, and  histrionic  person.  Ingram  perceived,  for  example, 
that  young  Lavender  had  so  little  regard  for  public  affairs 
that  he  would  have  been  quite  content  to  see  our  Indian 
Empire  go  for  the  sake  of  eliciting  a  sarcasm  from  Lord 
Westbury  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  if  you  had  appealed  to 
his  nobler  instincts,  and  placed  before  him  the  condition  of 
a  certain  populace  suffering  from  starvation,  he  would  have 
done  all  in  his  power  to  aid  them  ;  he  would  have  written 
letters  to  the  newspapers,  would  have  headed  subscriptions, 
and  would  have  ended  by  believing  that  he  had  been  the 
constant  friend  of  the  people  of  India  throughout  his  life, 
and  was  bound  to  stick  to  them  to  the  end  of  it. 

As  often  as  not  Lavender  borrowed  his  fancies  and 
opinions  from  Edward  Ingram  himself,  who  was  amused  and 
gratified  at  the  same  time  to  find  his  humdrum  notions 
receive  a  dozen  new  lights  and  colours  when  transferred  to 
the  warmer  atmosphere  of  his  friend's  imagination.  Ingrain 
would  even  consent  to  receive  from  his  younger  companion 
advice,  impetuously  urged  and  richly  illustrated,  which  he 
had  himself  offered,  in  simpler  terms,  months  before.  At 
this  very  moment  he  could  see  that  much  of  Lavender's 

G 


82  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

romantic  conceptions  of  Sheila's  character  was  only  an 
exaggeration  of  some  passing  hints  he,  Ingram,  had  dropped 
as  the  Clansman  was  steaming  into  Stornoway.  But  then 
they  were  ever  so  much  more  beautiful.  Ingram  held  to  his 
conviction  that  he  himself  was  a  distinctly  commonplace 
person.  He  had  grown  reconciled  to  the  ordinary  grooves 
of  life.  But  young  Lavender  was  not  commonplace — he 
fancied  he  could  see  in  him  an  occasional  flash  of  something 
that  looked  like  genius ;  and  many  and  many  a  time,  in 
regarding  the  brilliant  and  facile  powers,  the  generous 
impulses,  and  the  occasional  ambitions  of  his  companion,  he 
wondered  whether  these  would  ever  lead  to  anything  in  the 
way  of  production,  or  even  of  consolidation  of  character,  or 
whether  they  would  merely  remain  the  passing  sensations  of 
an  indifferent  idler.  Sometimes,  indeed,  he  devoutly  wished 
that  Lavender  had  been  born  a  stonemason. 

But  all  these  pleasant  and  graceful  qualities  which  had 
made  the  young  man  an  agreeable  companion  were  a  serious 
danger  now  ;  for  was  it  not  but  too  probable  that  Sheila, 
accustomed  to  the  rude  and  homely  ways  of  the  islanders, 
would  be  attracted,  and  pleased,  and  fascinated  by  one  who 
had  about  him  so  much  of  a  soft  and  southern  brightness 
with  which  she  was  wholly  unfamiliar  ?  { This  open-hearted 
frankness  of  his  placed  all  his  best  qualities  in  the  sunshine, 
as  it  were ;  she  could  not  fail  to  see  the  singular  modesty 
and  courtesy  of  his  bearing  towards  women,  his  gentle 
manners,  his  light-heartedness,  his  passionate  admiration 
of  the  self -sacrifice  of  others  and  his  sympathy  with  their 
sufferings.  Ingram  would  not  have  minded  much  if  Laven- 
der alone  had  been  concerned  in  the  imbroglio  now  growing 
imminent ;  he  would  have  left  him  to  flounder  out  of  it  as 
he  had  got  out  of  previous  ones.  But  he  had  been  surprised, 
and  pained,  and  even  frightened,  to  detect  in  Sheila's  man- 
ner some  faint  indications — so  faint  that  he  was  doubtful 
what  construction  to  put  on  them — of  a  special  interest  in  the 
young  stranger  whom,  he  had  brought  with  him  to  Borva. 

What  could  he  do  in  the  matter,  supposing  his  suspicions 
were  correct  ?  Caution  Sheila  ? — it  would  be  an  insult. 
Warn  Mackenzie  ? — the  King  of  Borva  would  fly  into  a 
passion  with  everybody  concerned,  and  bring  endless  humili- 
ation on  his  daughter,  who  had  probably  never  dreamed  of 


A  T  BAR  VAS  BRIDGE  83 

regarding  Lavender  except  as  a  chance  acquaintance.  Insist 
upon  Lavender  going  south  at  once  ? — that  would  merely 
goad  the  young  man  into  obstinacy.  Ingram  found  himself 
in  a  grievous  difficulty,  afraid  to  say  how  much  of  it  was  of 
his  own  creation.  He  had  no  selfish  sentiments  of  his  own 
to  consult ;  if  it  were  to  become  evident  that  the  happiness 
of  Sheila  and  of  his  friend  depended  on  their  marrying  each 
other,  he  was  ready  to  forward  such  a  project  with  all  the 
influence  at  his  command.  But  there  were  a  hundred  reasons 
why  he  should  dread  such  a  marriage.  He  had  already 
mentioned  several  of  them  to  Lavender,  in  trying  to  dissuade 
the  young  man  from  his  purpose.  A  few  days  had  passed 
since  then  ;  and  it  was  clear  that  Lavender  had  abandoned 
all  notion  of  fulfilling  those  resolutions  he  had  vaguely 
formed.  But  the  more  that  Ingram  thought  over  the 
matter,  and  the  further  he  recalled  all  the  ancient  proverbs 
and  stories  about  the  fate  of  intermeddlers,  the  more 
evident  it  became  to  him  that  he  could  take  no  immediate 
action  in  the  affair.  He  would  trust  to  the  chapter  of 
accidents  to  save  Sheila  from  what  he  considered  a  disastrous 
fate.  Perhaps  Lavender  would  repent.  Perhaps  Mackenzie, 
continually  on  the  watch  for  small  secrets,  would  discover 
something,  and  bid  his  daughter  stay  in  Borva  while  his 
guests  proceeded  on  their  tour  through  Lewis.  In  any  case, 
it  was  not  at  all  certain  that  Lavender  would  be  successful 
in  his  suit.  Was  the  heart  of  a  proud-spirited,  intelligent, 
and  busily-occupied  girl  to  be  won  in  a  matter  of  three  weeks 
or  a  month  ?  Lavender  would  go  south,  and  no  more 
would  be  heard  of  it. 

This  tour  round  the  island  of  Lewis,  however,  was  not 
likely  to  favour  much  any  such  easy  escape  from  the 
dilemma.  On  a  certain  morning  the  larger  of  Mr. 
Mackenzie's  boats  carried  the  holiday  party  away  from 
Borva  ;  and  even  at  this  early  stage — as  they  sat  in  the 
stern  of  the  heavy  craft — Lavender  had  arrogated  to  him- 
self the  exclusive  right  of  waiting  upon  Sheila.  He  had 
constituted  himself  her  companion  in  all  their  excursions 
about  Borva  which  they  had  undertaken  ;  and  now,  on  this 
longer  journey,  they  were  to  be  once  more  thrown  together. 
It  did  seem  a  little  hard  that  Ingram  should  be  relegated 
to  Mackenzie  and  his  theories  of  government ;  but  did  he 

o  2 


84  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

not  profess  to  prefer  that  ?  Like  most  men  who  have  got 
beyond  fi  ve-and-thirty,  he  was  rather  proud  of  considering 
himself  an  observer  of  life.  He  stood  aside  as  a  spectator, 
and  let  other  people,  engaged  in  all  manner  of  eager  pursuits, 
pass  before  him  for  review.  Towards  young  folks,  indeed, 
he  assumed  a  good-naturedly  paternal  air,  as  if  they  were 
but  as  shy-faced  children  to  be  humoured.  Were  not  their 
love-affairs  a  pretty  spectacle  ?  As  for  himself,  he  Avas  far 
beyond  all  that.  The  illusions  of  love-making,  the  devotion, 
and  ambition,  and  dreams  of  courtship,  were  no  longer 
possible  to  him  ;  but  did  they  not  constitute  on  the  whole  a 
beautiful  and  charming  study,  that  had  about  it  at  times  some 
little  touches  of  pathos  ?  At  odd  moments,  when  he  saw 
Sheila  and  Lavender  walking  together  in  the  evening,  he 
was  himself  half  inclined  to  wish  that  something  might  come 
of  the  young  man's  determination.  It  would  be  so  pleasant 
to  play  the  part  of  a  friendly  counsellor,  to  humour  the 
follies  of  the  young  folks,  to  make  jokes  at  their  expense, 
and  then,  in  the  midst  of  their  embarrassment  and  resent- 
ment, to  go  forward,  and  pet  them  a  little,  and  assure  them 
of  a  real  and  earnest  sympathy. 

"  Your  time  is  to  come,"  Lavender  said  to  him  suddenly, 
after  he  had  been  exhibiting  some  of  his  paternal  forbearance 
and  consideration  ;  "  you  will  get  a  dreadful  twist  some  day, 
my  boy.  You  have  been  doing  nothing  but  dreaming  about 
women  ;  but  some  day  or  other  you  will  wake  up  to  find 
yourself  captured  and  fascinated  beyond  anything  you 
have  ever  seen  in  other  people,  and  then  you  will  discover 
what  a  desperately  real  thing  it  is." 

Ingram  had  a  misty  impression  that  he  had  heard  some- 
thing like  this  before.  Had  he  not  given  Lavender  some 
warning  of  the  same  kind  ?  But  he  was  so  much  accustomed 
to  hear  those  vague  repetitions  of  his  own  remarks — and 
was,  on  the  whole,  so  well  pleased  to  think  that  his 
commonplace  notions  should  take  root  and  flourish  in  this 
goodly  soil — that  he  never  thought  of  asking  Lavender  to 
quote  his  authority  for  these  profound  observations  on  men 
and  things. 

"  Now,  Miss  Mackenzie,"  said  the  young  man,  as  the  big 
boat  was  drawing  near  to  Callernish,  "  what  is  to  be  our 
first  sketch  in  Lewis  ?  " 


AT  BARVAS  BRIDGE  8$ 

"  The  Callernish  stones,  of  course,"  said  Mackenzie  him- 
self ;  "  it  iss  more  than  one  hass  come  to  the  Lewis  to  see 
the  Callernish  stones." 

Lavender  had  promised  to  the  King  of  Borva  a  series  of 
water-colour  drawings  of  Lewis,  and  Sheila  was  to  choose 
the  subjects  from  day  to  day.  Mackenzie  was  gratified  by 
this  proposal,  and  accepted  it  with  much  magnanimity  ;  but 
Sheila  knew  that,  before  the  offer  was  made,  Lavender  had 
come  to  her  and  asked  her  if  she  cared  about  sketches,  and 
whether  he  might  be  allowed  to  take  a  few  on  this  journey 
and  present  them  to  her.  She  was  very  grateful ;  but 
suggested  that  it  might  please  her  papa  if  they  were  given 
to  him.  Would  she  superintend  them,  then,  and  choose 
the  topics  for  illustration  ?  Yes,  she  would  do  that ;  and 
so  the  young  man  was  furnished  with  a  roving  commission. 

He  brought  her  a  little  sepia  sketch  of  Borvabost,  its 
huts,  its  bay,  and  its  upturned  boats  on  the  beach.  Sheila's 
expressions  of  praise — the  admiration  and  pleasure  that 
shone  in  her  eyes — would  have  turned  any  young  man's 
head.  But  her  papa  looked  at  the  picture  with  a  critical 
eye,  and  remarked — • 

"  Oh  yes,  it  is  ferry  good — but  it  is  not  the  colour  of 
Loch  Roag  at  all.  It  is  the  colour  of  a  river  when  there  is 
a  flood  of  rain — I  have  neffcr  at  all  seen  Loch  Roag  a  brown 
colour — neff'er  at  all." 

It  was  clear,  then,  that  the  subsequent  sketches  could  not 
be  taken  in  sepia ;  and  so  Lavender  proposed  to  make  a 
series  of  pencil  drawings,  which  could  be  washed  in  with 
colour  afterwards.  There  was  one  subject,  indeed,  which, 
since  his  arrival  in  Lewis,  he  had  tried  to  fix  on  paper  by 
every  conceivable  means  in  his  power — and  that  was  Sheila 
herself.  He  had  spoiled  innumerable  sheets  of  paper  in 
trying  to  get  some  likeness  of  her  which  would  satisfy  him- 
self ;  but  all  his  usual  skill  seemed  somehow  to  have  gone 
from  him.  He  could  not  understand  it.  In  ordinary 
circumstances,  he  could  have  traced  in  a  dozen  lines  a 
portrait  that  would  at  least  have  shown  a  superficial  likeness 
— he  could  have  multiplied  portraits  by  the  dozen  of  old 
Mackenzie,  or  Ingram,  or  Duncan — but  here  he  seemed 
to  fail  utterly.  He  invited  no  criticism,  certainly.  These 
efforts  were  made  in  his  own  room ;  and  he  asked  no  one's 


opinion  as  to  the  likeness.  He  could,  indeed,  certify  to 
himself  that  the  drawing  of  the  features  was  correct  enough. 
There  was  the  sweet  and  placid  forehead,  with  its  low 
masses  of  dark  hair  ;  there  the  short  upper  lip,  the  finely- 
carved  mouth,  the  beautifully-rounded  chin  and  throat ; 
and  there  the  frank,  clear,  proud  eyes,  with  their  long 
lashes  and  highly-curved  eyebrows.  Sometimes,  too,  a 
touch  of  colour  added  warmth  to  the  complexion,  put  a 
glimmer  of  the  blue  sea  beneath  the  long  black  eyelashes, 
and  drew  a  thread  of  scarlet  round  the  white  neck.  But 
was  this  Sheila  ?  Could  he  take  this  sheet  of  paper  to  his 
friends  in  London,  and  say — Here  is  the  magical  Princess 
whom  I  hope  to  bring  to  you  from  the  North,  with  all  the 
glamour  of  the  sea  around  her  ?  He  felt  instinctively 
that  there  would  be  an  awkward  pause.  The  people  would 
praise  the  handsome,  frank,  courageous  head,  and  look 
upon  the  bit  of  red  ribbon  round  the  neck  as  an  effective 
artistic  touch.  They  would  hand  him  back  the  paper  with 
a  compliment ;  and  he  would  find  himself  in  an  agony  of 
unrest  because  they  had  misunderstood  the  portrait,  and 
seen  nothing  of  the  wonder  that  encompassed  this  Highland 
girl  as  if  with  a  garment  of  mystery  and  dreams. 

So  he  tore  up  portrait  after  portrait — more  than  one  of 
which  would  have  startled  Ingram  by  its  truth  ;  and  then, 
to  prove  to  himself  that  he  was  not  growing  mad,  he 
resolved  to  try  a  portrait  of  some  other  person.  He  drew  a 
head  of  old  Mackenzie  in  chalk,  and  was  amazed  with  the 
rapidity  and  facility  with  which  he  executed  the  task. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  success  of  the  likeness, 
nor  as  to  the  effect  of  the  picture.  The  King  of  Borva, 
with  his  heavy  eyebrows,  his  aquiline  nose,  his  keen  grey 
eyes  and  flowing  beard,  offered  a  fine  subject ;  and  there 
was  something  really  royal,  and  massive,  and  noble  in  the 
head  that  Lavender,  well  satisfied  with  his  work,  took  down- 
stairs one  evening.  Sheila  was  alone  in  the .  drawing-room, 
turning  over  some  music. 

"Miss  Mackenzie,"  he  said,  rather  kindly,  "would  you 
look  at  this  ?  " 

Sheila  turned  round,  and  the  sudden  light  of  pleasure 
that  leapt  to  her  face  was  all  the  praise  and  ah1  the 
assurance  he  wanted.  But  he  had  more  than  that.  The 


A  T  BAR  VAS  BRIDGE  87 

girl  was  grateful  to  him  beyond  all  the  words  she  could 
utter,  and  when  he  asked  her  if  she  would  accept  the 
picture,  she  thanked  him  by  taking  his  hand  for  a  moment, 
and  then  she  left  the  room  to  call  in  Ingram  and  her 
father.  All  the  evening  there  was  a  singular  look  of 
happiness  on  her  face.  When  she  met  Lavender's  eyes 
with  hers,  there  was  a  frank  and  friendly  look  of  gratitude 
ready  to  reward  him.  When  had  he  earned  so  much  before 
by  a  simple  sketch  ?  Many  and  many  a  portrait,  carefully 
executed  and  elaborately  framed,  had  he  presented  to  his 
lady-friends  in  London,  to  receive  from  them  a  pretty  note 
and  a  few  words  of  thanks  when  next  he  called.  Here, 
with  a  rough  chalk  sketch,  he  had  awakened  an  amount  of 
gratitude  that  almost  surprised  him  in  the  most  beautiful 
and  tender  soul  in  the  world  ;  and  had  not  this  princess 
among  women  taken  his  hand  for  a  moment,  as  a  childlike 
way  of  expressing  her  thanks,  while  her  eyes  spoke  more 
than  her  lips  ?  And  the  more  he  looked  at  those  eyes,  the 
more  he  grew  to  despair  of  ever  being  able  to  put  down  the 
magic  of  them  in  lines  and  colours. 

At  length  Duncan  guided  the  boat  into  the  small  creek 
at  Callernish,  and  the  party  got  out  on  the  shore.  As  they 
were  going  up  the  steep  path  leading  to  the  plain  above, 
a  young  girl  met  them,  who  looked  at  them  in  rather  a 
strange  way.  She  had  a  fair,  pretty,  wondering  face,  with 
singularly  high  eyebrows,  and  clear,  light  blue  eyes. 

"  How  are  you,  Eilean  ?  "  said  Mackenzie,  as  he  passed 
on  with  Ingram. 

But  Sheila,  on  making  the  same  inquiry,  shook  hands 
with  the  girl,  who  smiled  in  a  confidential  way,  and,  coming 
quite  close,  nodded,  and  pointed  down  to  the  water's  edge. 

"  Have  you  seen  them  to-day,  Eilean  ?  "  said  Sheila,  still 
holding  the  girl  by  the  hands,  and  looking  at  the  fair, 
pretty,  strange  face. 

"  It  wass  sa  day  before  yesterday,"  she  answered,  in  a 
whisper,  while  a  pleased  smile  appeared  in  her  eyes,  "  and 
sey  will  be  here  sa  night." 

"  Good-bye,  Eilean  ;  take  care  you  don't  stay  out  at  night 
and  catch  cold,  you  know,"  said  Sheila ;  and  then,  with 
another  little  nod  and  a  smile,  the  young  girl  went  down 
the  path. 


88  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  It  is  Eilean-of-the-Ghosts,  as  they  call  her,"  said  Sheila 
to  Lavender  as  they  went  on  ;  "  the  poor  thing  fancies  she 
sees  little  people  about  the  rocks,  and  watches  for  them. 
But  she  is  very  good  and  quiet,  and  she  is  not  afraid  of 
them,  and  she  does  no  harm  to  any  one.  She  does  not 
belong  to  the  Lewis  ;  I  think  she  is  from  Jura ;  but  she 
sometimes  comes  to  pay  us  a  visit  at  Borva,  and  my  papa  is 
very  kind  to  her." 

"  Mr.  Ingram  does  not  appear  to  know  her ;  I  thought 
he  was  acquainted  with  every  one  in  the  island,"  said 
Lavender. 

"  She  was  not  here  when  he  has  been  in  the  Lewis  before," 
said  Sheila  ;  "  but  Eilean  does  not  like  to  speak  to  strangers, 
and  I  do  not  think  you  could  get  her  to  speak  to  you  if 
you  tried." 

Lavender  had  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  "false 
men  "  of  Callernish  when  first  he  saw  them,  but  now  he 
approached  the  long  lines  of  big  stones  up  on  this  lonely 
plateau  with  a  new  interest.  For  Sheila  had  talked  to  him 
about  them  many  a  time  in  Borva,  and  had  asked  his 
opinion  about  their  origin  and  their  age.  Was  the  central 
circle  of  stones  an  altar,  with  the  other  series  marking  the 
approaches  to  it  ?  Or  was  it  the  grave  of  some  great 
chieftain,  with  the  remaining  stones  indicating  the  graves 
of  his  relations  and  friends  ?  Or  was  it  the  commemo- 
ration of  some  battle  in  olden  times,  or  the  record  of 
astronomical  or  geometrical  discoveries,  or  a  temple  once 
devoted  to  serpent-worship,  or  what  ?  Lavender,  who 
knew  absolutely  nothing  at  all  about  the  matter,  was  pro- 
bably as  well  qualified  as  anybody  else  to  answer  those 
questions  ;  but  he  forbore.  The  interest,  however,  that 
Sheila  showed  in  such  things  he  very  rapidly  acquired. 
When  he  came  to  see  the  rows  of  stones  a  second  time,  he 
was  much  impressed  by  their  position  on  this  bit  of  hill 
overlooking  the  sea.  He  sat  down  on  his  camp-stool  with 
the  determination  that,  although  he  could  not  satisfy 
Sheila's  wistful  questions,  he  would  present  her  with  some 
little  sketch  of  these  monuments  and  their  surroundings, 
which  might  catch  up  something  of  the  mysterious  loneli- 
ness of  the  scene. 

He  would  not,  of  course,  have  the  picture  as  it  then  pre- 


AT  BARVAS  BRIDGE  89 

sented  itself.  The  sun  was  glowing  on  the  grass  around 
him,  and  lighting  up  the  tall  grey  pillars  of  stone  with  a 
cheerful  radiance.  Over  there  the  waters  of  Loch  Roag 
^Yere  bright  and  blue,  and  beyond  the  lake  the  undulations 
of  moorland  were  green  and  beautiful,  and  the  mountains 
in  the  south  grown  pale  as  silver  in  the  heat.  Here  was  a 
pretty  young  lady,  in  a  rough  blue  travelling  dress,  and  a 
hat  and  feather,  who  was  engaged  in  picking  up  wild- 
flowers  from  the  warm  heath.  There  was  a  gentleman 
from  the  office  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  who  was  sitting  on 
the  grass,  nursing  his  knees,  and  whistling.  From  time  to 
time  the  chief  figure  in  the  foreground  was  an  elderly 
gentleman,  who  evidently  expected  that  he  was  going  to  be 
put  into  the  picture,  and  who  was  occasionally  dropping  a 
cautious  hint  that  he  did  not  always  wear  this  rough-and- 
ready  sailor's  costume.  Mackenzie  was  also  most  anxious 
to  point  out  to  the  artist  the  names  of  the  hills  and  districts 
lying  to  the  south  of  Loch  Roag,  apparently  with  the  hope 
that  the  sketch  would  have  a  certain  topographical  interest 
for  future  visitors. 

No  ;  Lavender  was  content  at  that  moment  to  take  down 
the  outlines  of  the  great  stones,  and  the  configuration  of 
lake  and  hill  beyond  ;  but  by  and  by  he  would  give  another 
sort  of  atmosphere  to  this  wild  scene.  He  would  have  rain 
and  darkness  spread  over  the  island,  with  the  low  hills  in 
the  south  grown  desolate  and  remote,  and  the  waters  of 
the  sea  covered  with  gloom.  No  human  figure  should  be 
visible  on  this  solitary  plain,  where  these  strange  memorials 
had  stood  for  centuries,  exposed  to  western  gales,  and  the 
stillness  of  the  winter  nights,  and  the  awful  silence  of  the 
stars.  Would  not  Sheila,  at  least,  understand  the  bleakness 
and  desolation  of  the  picture  ?  Of  course  her  father  would 
like  to  have  everything  blue  and  green.  He  seemed  a  little 
disappointed  when  it  was  clear  that  no  distant  glimpse  of 
Borva  could  be  introduced  into  the  sketch.  But  Sheila's 
imagination  would  be  captured  by  this  sombre  picture ; 
and  perhaps,  by  and  by,  in  some  other  land,  amid  fairer 
scenes  and  in  a  more  generous  climate,  she  might  be  less 
inclined  to  hunger  for  the  dark  and  melancholy  North 
when  she  looked  on  this  record  of  its  gloom  and  its 
sadness. 


96  A  PRINCESS  Of 

"  Iss  he  going  to  put  any  people  in  the  pictures  ?  "  said 
Mackenzie,  in  a  confidential  whisper  to  Ingram. 

Ingram  got  up  from  the  grass,  and  said,  with  a  yawn — 

"  I  don't  know.  If  he  does,  it  will  be  afterwards. 
Suppose  we  go  along  to  the  waggonette,  and  see  if  Duncan 
has  brought  everything  up  from  the  boat  ?  " 

The  old  man  seemed  rather  unwilling  to  be  cut  out  of 
this  particular  sketch  ;  but  he  went,  nevertheless  ;  and 
Sheila,  seeing  Mr.  Lavender  left  alone,  and  thinking  that 
not  quite  fair,  came  over  to  him,  and  asked  if  she  might  be 
permitted  to  see  as  much  as  he  had  done. 

Lavender  shut  up  the  book. 

"  No,"  he  said  with  a  laugh,  "  you  shall  see  it  to-night. 
I  have  sufficient  memoranda  to  work  something  out  of  it  by 
and  by.  Shall  we  have  another  look  at  the  circle  up  there  ?  " 

He  folded  up  and  shouldered  his  camp-stool,  and  they 
walked  to  the  point  at  which  the  long  lines  of  the 
"  mourners  "  converge.  Perhaps  he  was  moved  by  a  great 
antiquarian  curiosity  ;  at  all  events,  he  showed  a  singular 
interest  in  the  monuments  ;  and  talked  to  his  companion 
about  all  the  possible  theories  connected  with  such  stones  in 
a  fashion  that  charmed  her  greatly.  She  was  easily  per- 
suaded that  the  Callernish  "  Fir-Bhreige  "  were  the  most 
interesting  relics  in  the  world.  He  had  seen  Stonebenge, 
but  Stonehenge  was  too  flat  to  be  impressive.  There  was 
more  mystery  about  the  means  by  which  the  inhabitants  of 
a  small  island  could  have  hewn,  and  carved,  and  erected 
these  blocks  ;  there  was,  moreover,  the  mystery  about  the 
vanished  population  itself.  Yes,  he  had  been  to  Carnac 
also.  He  had  driven  down  from  Auray  in  a  rumbling  old 
trap,  his  coachman  being  unable  to  talk  French.  He  had 
seen  the  half-cultivated  plain  on  which  there  were  rows  and 
rows  of  small  stones,  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
stone  walls  of  the  adjoining  farms.  What  was  there  im- 
pressive about  such  a  sight,  when  you  went  into  a  house 
and  paid  a  franc  to  be  shown  the  gold  ornaments  picked  up 
about  the  place  ?  Here,  however,  was  a  perfect  series  of 
those  strange  memorials,  with  the  long  lanes  leading  up  to 
a  circle,  and  the  tallest  of  all  the  stones  placed  on  the 
western  side  of  the  circle  perhaps  as  the  headstone  of  the 
buried  chief.  Look  at  the  position,  too — the  silent  hill,  the 


AT  BARVAS  BRIDGE  9! 

waters  of  the  sea-loch  around  it,  and  beyond  that  the  deso- 
lation of  miles  of  untenanted  moorland.  Sheila  seemed 
pleased  that  her  companion,  after  coming  so  far,  should 
have  found  something  worth  looking  at  in  the  Lewis. 

"  Does  it  not  seem  strange,"  he  said,  suddenly,  "  to  think 
of  young  folks  of  the  present  day  picking  up  wild-flowers 
from  among  those  old  stones  ?  " 

He  was  looking  at  a  tiny  bouquet  which  she  had  gathered. 

"  Will  you  take  them  ? "  she  said,  quite  simply  and 
naturally  offering  him  the  flowers.  "They  may  remind 
you  some  time  of  Callernish." 

He  took  the  flowers,  and  regarded  them  for  a  moment  in 
silence  ;  and  then  he  said  gently — 

"I  do  not  think  I  shall  want  these  to  remind  me  of 
Callernish.  I  shall  never  forget  our  being  here." 

At  this  juncture — perhaps  fortunately — Duncan  appeared, 
and  came  along  towards  the  young  people  with  a  basket  in 
his  hand. 

"  It  wass  Mr.  Mackenzie  will  ask  if  ye  will  tek  a  glass  o1 
whisky,  sir,  and  a  bit  o'  bread  and  cheese.  And  he  wass 
sayin'  there  wass  no  hurry  at  all,  and  he  will  wait  for  you 
two  hours,  or  half  an  hour  whatever." 

"  All  right,  Duncan ;  go  back  and  tell  him  I  have 
finished,  and  we  shall  be  there  directly.  No,  thank  you, 
don't  take  out  the  whisky — unless,  Miss  Mackenzie,"  added 
the  young  man,  with  a  smile,  "  Duncan  can  persuade  you." 

Duncan  looked  with  amazement  at  the  man  who  dared  to 
joke  about  Miss  Sheila  taking  whisky  ;  and,  without  waiting 
for  any  further  commands,  indignantly  shut  the  lid  of  the 
basket,  and  walked  off. 

"  I  wonder,  Miss  Mackenzie,"  said  Lavender,  as  they  went 
along  the  path  and  down  the  hill,  "  I  wonder  what  you 
would  say  if  I  happened  to  call  you  Sheila  by  mistake." 

"  I  should  be  glad  if  you  did  that.  Every  one  calLs  rue 
Sheila,"  said  the  girl,  quietly  enough. 

"  You  would  not  be  vexed  ?  "  he  said,  regarding  her  with 
a  little  surprise. 

"  No  ;  why  should  I  be  vexed  ?  "  she  answered,  and  she 
happened  to  look  up,  and  he  saw  what  a  clear  light  of 
sincerity  there  was  shining  in  her  eyes. 

"  May  I  then  call  you  Sheila  ?  "  " 


92  A  PRINCESS  Of  THULE 

"Yes." 

"  But — but — "  he  said,  with  a  timidity  and  embarrass- 
ment of  which  she  showed  no  trace  whatever,  "  but  people 
might  think  it  strange,  you  know — and  yet  I  should  greatly 
like  to  call  you  Sheila — only,  not  before  other  people,  per- 
haps   " 

"  But  why  not  ?  "  she  said,  with  her  eyebrows  just  raised 
a  little.  "  Why  should  you  wish  to  call  me  Sheila  at  one 
time  and  not  at  the  other  ?  It  is  no  difference  whatever — • 
and  everyone  calls  me  Sheila." 

Lavender  was  a  little  disappointed.  He  had  hoped,  when 
she  consented  in  so  friendly  a  manner  to  his  calling  her  by 
any  name  he  chose,  that  he  could  have  established  this  little 
arrangement,  which  would  have  had  about  it  something  of 
the  nature  of  a  personal  confidence.  Sheila  would  evidently 
have  none  of  that.  "Was  it  that  she  was  really  so  simple 
and  frank  in  her  ways  that  she  did  not  understand  why 
there  should  be  such  a  difference,  and  what  it  might  imply  ; 
or  was  she  well  aware  of  everything  he  had  been  wishing, 
and'able  to  assume  this  air  of  simplicity  and  ignorance  with 
a  perfect  grace  ?  Ingram,  he  reflected,  would  have  said  at 
once  that  to  suspect  Sheila  of  such  duplicity  was  to  insult 
her  ;  but  then  Ingram  was  perhaps  himself  a  trifle  too  easily 
imposed  on  ;  and  he  had  notions  about  women — despite  all 
his  philosophical  reading  and  such  like — that  a  little  more 
mingling  in  society  might  have  caused  him  to  alter.  Frank 
Lavender  confessed  to  himself  that  Sheila  was  either  a 
miracle  of  ingenuousness  or  a  thorough  mistress  of  the  art 
of  assuming  it.  On  the  one  hand,  he  considered  it  almost 
impossible  for  a  woman  to  be  so  ingenuous  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  how  could  this  girl  have  taught  herself,  in  the  soli- 
tude of  a  savage  island,  a  species  of  histrionicism  which 
women  in  London  circles  strove  for  years  to  acquire  and 
rarely  acquired  in  any  perfection  ?  At  all  events,  he  said 
to  himself,  while  he  reserved  his  opinion  on  this  point,  he 
was  not  going  to  call  Sheila  Sheila  before  folks  who  would 
know  what  that  meant.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  evidently  a 
most  irascible  old  gentleman.  Goodness  only  knew  what 
sort  of  law  prevailed  in  these  wild  parts  ;  and  to  be  seized 
at  midnight  by  a  couple  of  brawny  fishermen — to  be  carried 
down  to  a  projecting  ledge  of  rock —  !  Had  not  Ingram 


A  T  BAR  VA S  BRIDGE  93 

already  hinted  that  Mackenzie  would  straightway  throw 
into  Loch  Roag  the  man  who  should  offer  to  carry  away 
Sheila  from  him  ? 

But  how  could  these  doubts  of  Sheila's  sincerity  last  ?  He 
sat  opposite  her  in  the  waggonette  ;  and  the  perfect  truth  of 
her  face,  of  her  frank  eyes,  and  of  her  ready  smile  met  him 
at  every  moment,  whether  he  talked  to  her,  or  to  Ingram, 
or  listened  to  old  Mackenzie,  who  turned  from  time  to  time 
from  the  driving  of  the  horses  to  inform  the  stranger  of 
what  he  saw  around  him.  It  was  the  most  brilliant  of 
mornings.  The  sun  burned  on  the  white  road,  on  the 
brown  moorland,  on  the  grey-lichened  rocks  with  their 
crimson  patches  of  heather.  As  they  drove  by  the  curious 
convolutions  of  this  rugged  coast,  the  sea  that  lay  beyond 
these  recurring  bays  and  points  was  of  a  windy  green,  with 
here  and  there  a  streak  of  silver ;  and  the  fresh  breeze 
blowing  across  to  them  tempered  the  fierce  heat  of  the  sun. 
How  cool,  too,  were  those  little  fresh-water  lakes  they  passed 
• — the  clear  blue  and  white  of  them  stirred  into  wavelets  that 
moved  the  reeds  and  left  air-bubbles  about  the  half-sub- 
merged stones.  Were  not  those  wild  geese  over  there,  flap- 
ping in  the  water  with  their  huge  wings,  and  taking  no 
notice  of  the  passing  strangers  ?  Lavender  had  never  seen 
this  lonely  coast  in  times  of  gloom,  with  those  little  lakes 
become  sombre  pools,  and  the  outline  of  the  moorland  lost 
in  the  driving  mist  of  the  sea  and  the  rain.  It  was  alto- 
gether a  bright  and  radiant  world  he  had  got  into,  and  there 
was  in  it  but  one  woman,  beautiful  beyond  his  dreams.  To 
doubt  her,  was  to  doubt  all  women.  When  he  looked  at  her 
he  forgot  the  caution,  and  distrust,  and  sardonic  self-com- 
placency his  southern  training  had  given  him.  He  believed  ; 
and  the  world  seemed  to  be  filled  with  a  new  splendour. 

"  That  is  Loch-na-muil'ne,"  Mackenzie  was  saying,  "  and 
it  iss  the  Loch  of  the  Mill ;  and  over  there  that  is  Loch-a- 
Bhaile,  and  that  iss  the  Loch  of  the  Town  ;  but  where  iss 
the  town  now  ?  It  wass  many  hundreds  of  years  since 
there  will  be  numbers  of  people  in  this  place,  and  you  will 
come  to  Dun  Charlolhaidh,  which  is  a  great  castle,  by  and  by. 
And  what  wass  it  will  drive  away  the  people,  and  leave  the 
land  to  the  moss,  but  that  there  wass  no  one  to  look  after 
them  ?  '  When  the  natives  will  leave  Islay,  farewell  to  t/te 


94  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

peace  of  Scotland"1 — that  iss-a  good  proverb.  And  if  they 
have  no  one  to  mind  them,  they  will  go  away  altogether. 
And  there  is  no  people  more  obedient  than  the  people  of  the 
Highlands — not  anywhere  ;  for  you  know  that  we  say,  '  Is 
it  truth,  as  if  you  were,  speaking  before  Icings  ?  '  And  now 
there  is  the  castle — and  there  wass  many  people  living  here 
when  they  could  build  that." 

It  was,  in  truth,  one  of  those  circular  forts,  the  date  of 
which  has  given  rise  to  endless  conjecture  and  discussion. 
Perched  up  on  a  hill,  it  overlooked  a  number  of  deep  and 
narrow  valleys,  that  ran  landward ;  while  the  other  side 
of  the  hill  sloped  down  to  the  sea-shore.  It  was  a  striking 
object,  this  tumbling  mass  of  dark  stones  standing  high 
over  the  green  hollows,  and  over  the  light  plain  of  the 
sea.  "Was  there  not  here  material  for  another  sketch  for 
Sheila  ?  While  Lavender  had  gone  away  across  the  heights 
and  hollows  to  choose  his  point  of  view,  a  rough-and-ready 
luncheon  had  been  spread  out  in  the  waggonette  ;  and  when 
he  returned,  perspiring  and  considerably  blown,  he  found 
old  Mackenzie  measuring  out  equal  portions  of  peat-water 
and  whisky,  Duncan  flicking  the  enormous  "  clegs  "  from 
off  the  horses'  necks,  Ingram  trying  to  persuade  Sheila  to 
have  some  sherry  out  of  a  flask  he  carried,  and  everybody  in 
very  good  spirits  over  such  an  exciting  event  as  a  roadside 
luncheon  on  a  summer  day. 

The  King  of  Borva  had  by  this  time  become  excellent 
friends  with  the  young  stranger  who  had  ventured  into 
his  dominions.  When  the  old  gentleman  had  sufficiently 
impressed  on  everybody  that  he  had  observed  all  necessary 
precaution  in  studying  the  character  and  inquiring  into  the 
antecedents  of  Lavender,  he  could  not  help  confessing  to  a 
sense  of  lightness  and  vivacity  that  the  young  man  seemed 
to  bring  with  him  and  shed  around  him.  Nor  was  this 
matter  of  the  sketches  the  only  thing  that  had  particularly 
recommended  Lavender  to  the  old  man.  Mackenzie  had  a 
most  distinct  dislike  to  Gaelic  songs.  He  could  not  bear  the 
monotonous  melancholy  of  them.  When  Sheila,  sitting  by 
herself,  would  sing  these  strange  old  ballads  of  an  evening, 
he  would  suddenly  enter  the  room,  probably  find  her  eyes 
filled  with  tears,  and  then  he  would  in  his  inmost  heart 
devote  the  whole  of  Gaelic  minstrelsy  and  all  its  authors  to 


AT  BARVAS  BRIDGE  95 

the  infernal  gods.  Why  should  people  be  for  ever  saddening 
themselves  with  the  stories  of  other  folks'  misfortunes  ?  It 
was  bad  enough  for  those  poor  people  ;  but  they  had  borne 
their  sorrows,  and  died,  and  were  at  peace.  Surely  it  was 
better  that  we  should  have  songs  about  ourselves — drinking 
or  fighting,  if  you  like,  to  keep  up  the  spirits — to  lighten  the 
serious  cares  of  life,  and  drown  for  a  while  the  responsibility 
of  looking  after  a  whole  population  of  poor,  half -ignorant, 
unphilosophical  creatures. 

"  Look,  now,"  he  would  say,  speaking  of  his  own  tongue, 
"  look  at  this  teffle  of  a  language  !  It  has  no  present  tense 
to  its  verbs — the  people  they  are  always  looking  forward  to 
a  melancholy  future,  or  looking  back  to  a  melancholy  past. 
In  the  name  of  Kott,  hef  we  not  got  ourselves  to  live  ? 
This  day  we  live  in  is  better  than  any  day  that  wass  before 
or  iss  to  come,  bekass  it  is  here,  and  we  are  alive.  And  I  will 
hef  no  more  of  these  songs  about  crying,  and  crying,  and 
crying  !  " 

Now  Sheila  and  Lavender,  in  their  mutual  musical  con- 
fidences, had  at  an  early  period  discovered  that  each  of  them 
knew  something  of  the  older  English  duets,  and  forthwith 
they  tried  a  few  of  them,  to  Mackenzie's  extreme  delight. 
Here,  at  last,  was  a  sort  of  music  he  could  understand — none 
of  your  meanings  of  widows,  and  cries  of  luckless  girls  to  the 
sea — but  good  common-sense  songs,  in  which  the  lads  kissed 
the  lasses  with  a  will,  and  had  a  good  drink  afterwards,  and 
a  dance  on  the  green  on  their  homeward  way.  There  was 
fun  in  those  happy  May-fields  ;  and  good  health  and  brisk- 
ness in  the  ale-house  choruses  ;  and  throughout  them  all  a 
prevailing  cheerfulness  and  contentment  with  the  conditions 
of  life  certain  to  recommend  itself  to  the  contemplative  mind. 
Mackenzie  never  tired  of  hearing  those  simple  ditties.  He 
grew  confidential  with  the  young  man  ;  and  told  him  that 
those  fine  common-sense  songs  recalled  pleasant  scenes  to 
him.  He  himself  knew  something  of  English  village-life. 
When  he  had  been  up  to  see  the  Great  Exhibition,  he  had 
gone  to  visit  a  friend  living  in  Brighton,  and  he  had  surveyed 
the  country  with  an  observant  eye.  He  had  remarked 
several  village-greens,  with  the  May-poles  standing  here  and 
there  in  front  of  the  cottages,  emblazoned  with  beautiful 
banners.  He  had,  it  is  true,  fancied  that  the  May-pole 


96  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

should  be  in  the  centre  of  the  green ;  but  the  manner  in 
which  the  waves  of  population  swept  here  and  there,  swal- 
lowing up  open  spaces  and  so  forth,  would  account  to  a 
philosophical  person  for  the  fact  that  the  May-poles  were 
now  close  to  the  village-shops. 

" Drinlc  to  me  only  with  thine  eyes"  hummed  the  King  of 
Borva  to  himself,  as  he  sent  the  two  little  horses  along  the 
coast-road  on  this  warm  summer  day.  He  had  heard  the 
song  for  the  first  time  on  the  previous  evening ;  he  had 
no  voice  to  speak  of  ;  he  had  missed  the  air,  and  these  were 
all  the  words  he  remembered  ;  but  it  was  a  notable  compli- 
ment all  the  same  to  the  young  man  who  had  brought  these 
pleasant  tunes  to  the  island.  And  so  they  drove  on  through 
the  keen  salt  wind,  with  the  sea  shining  beside  them,  and 
the  sky  shining  over  them ;  and  in  the  afternoon  they 
arrived  at  the  small,  remote,  and  solitary  inn  of  Barvas, 
placed  near  the  confluence  of  several  rivers  that  flow  through 
Loch  Barvas,  or  Barabhas,  to  the  sea.  Here  they  proposed 
to  stop  the  night ;  so  Lavender,  when  his  room  had  been 
assigned  to  him,  begged  to  be  left  alone  for  an  hour  or  two, 
that  he  might  throw  a  little  colour  into  his  sketch  of  Caller- 
nish.  What  was  there  to  see  at  Barvas  ?  Why,  nothing  but 
the  channels  of  the  brown  streams,  some  pasture-land,  and 
a  few  huts  ;  then  the  unfrequented  lake,  and  beyond  that 
some  ridges  of  white  sand,  standing  over  the  shingly  beach 
of  the  sea.  He  would  join  them  at  dinner.  Mackenzie  pro- 
tested in  a  mild  way  ;  he  really  wanted  to  see  how  the 
island  was  to  be  illustrated  by  the  stranger.  There  was 
a  greater  protest,  mingled  with  compassion  and  regret,  in 
Sheila's  eyes  ;  but  the  young  man  was  firm.  So  they  let 
him  have  his  way,  and  gave  him.  full  possession  of  the 
common  sitting-room,  while  they  set  off  to  visit  the  school, 
and  the  Free-Church  manse,  and  what  not  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. 

Mackenzie  had  ordered  dinner  at  eight,  to  show  that  he 
was  familiar  with  the  ways  of  civilized  life  ;  and  when  they 
returned  at  that  hour,  Lavender  had  two  sketches  finished. 

"  Yes,  they  are  very  good,"  said  Ingram,  who  was  seldom 
enthusiastic  about  his  friend's  work. 

But  old  Mackenzie  was  so  vastly  pleased  with  the  picture 
which  represented  his  native  place  in  the  brightest  of  sun- 


AT  BARVAS  BRIDGE  97 

shine  and  colours,  that  he  forgot  to  assume  a  critical  air 
He  said  nothing  against  the  rainy  and  desolate  version  of 
the  scene  that  had  been  given  to  Sheila  ;  it  was  good  enough 
to  please  the  child.  But  here  was  something  brilliant, 
effective,  cheerful ;  and  he  alarmed  Lavender  not  a  little  by 
proposing  to  get  one  of  the  natives  to  carry  this  treasure, 
then  and  there,  back  to  Borvabost.  Both  sketches  were 
ultimately  returned  to  his  book  ;  and  then  Sheila  helped  him 
to  remove  his  artistic  apparatus  from  the  table  on  which 
their  plain  and  homely  meal  was  to  be  placed.  As  she  was 
about  to  follow  her  father  and  Ingram,  who  had  left  the 
room,  she  paused  for  a  moment  and  said  to  Lavender,  with 
a  look  of  frank  gratitude  in  her  eyes — 

"  It  is  very  good  of  you  to  have  pleased  my  papa  so  much. 
I  know  when  he  is  pleased,  though  he  does  not  speak  of  it ; 
and  it  is  not  often  he  will  be  so  much  pleased." 

"  And  you,  Sheila  ?  "  said  the  young  man,  unconscious  of 
the  familiarity  he  was  using,  and  only  remembering  that  she 
had  scarcely  thanked  him  for  the  other  sketch. 

"  Well,  there  is  nothing  that  will  please  me  so  much  as  to 
see  him  pleased,"  she  said,  with  a  smile. 

He  was  about  to  open  the  door  for  her  ;  but  he  kept  his 
hand  on  the  handle,  and  said,  earnestly  enough — 

"  But  that  is  such  a  small  matter — an  hour's  work.  If 
you  only  knew  how  gladly  I  would  live  all  my  life  here  if 
only  I  could  do  you  some  greater  service — • — " 

She  looked  a  little  surprised,  and  then,  for  one  brief 
second,  reflected.  English  was  not  wholly  familiar  to  her — 
perhaps  she  had  failed  to  catch  what  he  really  meant.  But 
at  all  events  she  said,  gravely  and  simply — 

"  You  would  soon  tire  of  living  here  ;  it  is  not  always  a 
holiday." 

And  then,  without  lifting  her  eyes  to  his  face,  she  turned 
to  the  door  ;  and  he  opened  it  for  her,  and  she  was  gone. 

It  was  about  ten  o'clock  when  they  went  outside  for  their 
evening  stroll ;  and  all  the  world  had  grown  enchanted  since 
they  had  seen  it  in  the  colours  of  the  sunset.  There  was  no 
night ;  but  a  strange  clearness  over  the  sky  and  the  earth  ; 
and  down  in  the  south  the  moon  was  rising  over  the  Barvas 
hills.  In  the  dark  green  meadows  the  cattle  were  still 
grazing.  Voices  of  children  could  be  heard  in  the  far 

H 


98  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

distance,  with  the  rumble  of  a  cart  coming  through  the 
silence,  and  the  murmur  of  the  streams  flowing  down  to  the 
loch.  The  loch  itself  lay  like  a  line  of  dusky  yellow  in  a 
darkened  hollow  near  the  sea,  having  caught  on  its  surface 
the  pale  glow  of  the  northern  heavens,  where  the  sun  had 
gone  down  hours  before.  The  air  was  warm,  and  yet  fresh 
with  the  odours  of  the  Atlantic  ;  and  there  was  a  scent  of 
Dutch  clover  coming  across  from  the  sandy  pastures  nearer 
the  coast.  The  huts  of  the  small  hamlet  could  but  faintly 
be  made  out  beyond  the  dark  and  low-lying  fields  ;  but  a 
long,  pale  line  of  blue  smoke  lay  in  the  motionless  air,  and 
the  voices  of  the  children  told  of  open  doors.  Night  after 
night,  the  same  picture,  with  slight  variations  of  position, 
had  been  placed  before  the  stranger  who  had  come  to  view 
these  solitudes  ;  and  night  after  night  it  seemed  to  him  to 
grow  more  beautiful.  He  could  put  down  on  paper  the  out- 
lines of  an  every-day  landscape,  and  give  them  a  dash  of 
brilliant  colour  to  look  well  on  a  wall ;  but  how  to  carry 
away,  except  in  the  memory,  any  impression  of  the  strange 
lambent  darkness,  the  tender  hues,  the  loneliness  and  the 
pathos  of  those  northern  twilights  ? 

They  walked  down  by  the  side  of  one  of  the  streams 
towards  the  sea.  But  Sheila  was  not  his  companion  on 
this  occasion.  Her  father  had  laid  hold  of  him,  and  was 
expounding  to  him  the  rights  of  capitalists  and  various 
other  matters.  But,  by  and  by,  Lavender  drew  his  com- 
panion on  to  talk  of  Sheila's  mother  ;  and  here,  at  least, 
Mackenzie  was  neither  tedious  nor  ridiculous,  nor  unneces- 
sarily garrulous.  It  was  with  a  strange  interest  that  the 
young  man  heard  the  elderly  man  talk  of  his  courtship,  his 
marriage,  the  character  of  his  wife,  and  her  goodness  and 
beauty.  Was  it  not  like  looking  at  a  former  Sheila ;  and 
would  not  this  Sheila  now  walking  before  him  go  through 
the  same  tender  experiences,  and  be  admired,  and  loved,  and 
petted  by  everybody  as  this  other  girl  had  been,  who  brought 
with  her  the  charm  of  winning  ways  and  a  gentle  nature  into 
these  rude  wilds  ?  It  was  the  first  time  he  had  heard  Mac- 
kenzie speak  of  his  wife,  and  it  turned  out  to  be  the  last ; 
but  from  that  moment  the  older  man  had  something  of 
dignity  in  the  eyes  of  this  younger  man,  who  had  merely 
judged  of  hjm  by  big  little  foibles  and  eccentricities,  and 


AT  BARVAS  BRIDGE  99 

would  have  been  ready  to  dismiss  him  contemptuously  as  a 
buffoon.  There  was  something,  then,  behind  that  powerful 
face,  with  its  deep-cut  lines,  its  heavy  eyebrows,  and  piercing 
and  sometimes  sad  eyes,  besides  a  mere  liking  for  tricks  of 
childish  diplomacy  ?  Lavender  began  to  have  some  respect 
for  Sheila's  father  ;  and  made  a  resolution  to  guard  against 
the  impertinence  of  humouring  him  too  ostentatiously. 

Was  it  not  hard,  though,  that  Ingram,  who  was  so  cold 
and  unimpressionable,  who  smiled  at  the  notion  of  marrying, 
and  who  was  probably  enjoying  his  pipe  quite  as  much  as 
Sheila's  familiar  talk,  should  have  the  girl  all  to  himself 
on  this  witching  night  ?  They  reached  the  shores  of  the 
Atlantic.  There  was  not  a  breath  of  wind  coming  in  from 
the  sea  ;  but  the  air  seemed  even  sweeter  and  cooler  as  they 
sat  down  on  the  great  bank  of  shingle.  Here  and  there 
birds  were  calling,  and  Sheila  could  distinguish  each  one  of 
them.  As  the  moon  rose,  a  faint  golden  light  began  to 
tremble  here  and  there  on  the  waves,  as  if  some  subterranean 
caverns  were  lit  up  and  sending  to  the  surface  dim  and  fitful 
rays  of  their  splendour.  Further  along  the  coast  the  tall 
banks  of  sand  grew  white  in  the  twilight ;  and  the  outlines 
of  the  dark  pasture-land  behind  grew  more  distinct. 

But  when  they  set  out  again  for  Barvas,  the  moonlight 
had  grown  full  and  clear  ;  and  the  long  and  narrow  loch  had 
a  pathway  of  gold  across,  stretching  from  the  reeds  and  sedges 
of  the  one  side  to  the  reeds  and  sedges  of  the  other.  And 
now  Ingram  had  gone  on  to  join  Mackenzie ;  and  Sheila 
walked  behind  with  Lavender  ;  and  her  face  was  pale  and 
beautiful  in  the  moonlight. 

"  1  shall  be  very  sorry  when  I  have  to  leave  Lewis,"  he 
said,  as  they  walked  along  the  path  leading  through  the  sand 
and  the  clover  ;  and  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  he  felt- 
the  regret  expressed  in  the  words. 

"  But  it  is  no  use  to  speak  of  leaving  us  yet,"  said  Sheila, 
cheerfully  ;  "  it  is  a  long  time  before  you  will  go  away  from 
the  Lewis." 

"  And  I  fancy  I  shall  always  think  of  the  island  just  as 
it  is  now — with  the  moonlight  over  there,  and  a  loch  near, 
and  you  walking  through  the  stillness.  We  have  had  so 
many  evening  walks  like  this." 

"  You  will  make  us  very  vain  of  our  island,"  said  the 

n  2 


loo  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

girl,  with  a  smile,  "  if  you  will  speak  likn  that  always  to  us. 
Is  there  no  moonlight  in  England  ?  I  have  pictures  of 
English  scenery  that  seem  far  more  beautiful  than  any  we 
have  here  ;  and  if  there  is  the  moon  here,  it  will  be  there 
too.  Think  of  the  pictures  of  the  river  Thames  that  my 
papa  showed  you  last  night " 

"  Oh,  but  there  is  nothing  like  this  in  the  South,"  said 
the  young  man  impetuously  ;  "  I  do  not  believe  there  is  in 
the  world  anything  so  beautiful  as  this.  Sheila,  what  would 
you  say  if  I  resolved  to  come  and  live  here  always  ?  " 

"  1  should  like  that  very  much  more  than  you  would  like 
it,  perhaps,"  she  said,  with  a  bright  laugh. 

"  That  would  please  you  better  than  for  you  to  go  always 
and  live  in  England,  would  it  not  ?  " 

"  But  that  is  impossible,"  she  said.  "  My  papa  would 
never  think  of  living  in  England." 

For  some  time  after  he  was  silent.  The  two  figures  in 
front  of  them  walked  steadily  on ;  an  occasional  roar  of 
laughter  from  the  deep  chest  of  Mackenzie  startling  the 
night  air,  and  telling  of  Ingram's  being  in  a  communicative 
mood.  At  last  Lavender  said — 

"  It  seems  to  me  so  great  a  pity  that  you  should  live  in 
this  remote  place,  and  have  so  little  amusement  and  see  so 
few  people  of  tastes  and  education  like  your  own.  Your 
papa  is  so  much  occupied — he  is  so  much  older  than  you, 
too — that  you  must  be  left  to  yourself  so  much  ;  whereas,  if 
you  had  a  companion  of  your  own  age,  who  could  have  the 
right  to  talk  frankly  to  you,  and  go  about  with  you,  and 
take  care  of  you •" 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  little  wooden  bridge 
crossing  the  stream  :  and  Mackenzie  and  Ingram  had  got 
•to  the  inn,  where  they  stood  in  front  of  the  door  in  the 
moonlight.  Before  ascending  the  steps  of  the  bridge, 
Lavender,  without  pausing  in  his  speech,  took  Sheila's  hand, 
and  said  suddenly — 

"  Now  don't  let  me  alarm  you,  Sheila  ;  but  suppose  at 
some  distant  day — as  far  away  as  you  please — I  came  and 
asked  you  to  let  me  be  your  companion,  then  and  always, 
wouldn't  you  try  ?  " 

She  looked  up  with  a  startled  glance  of  fear  in  her  eyes, 
and  withdrew  her  hand  from  him. 


AT  BARVAS  BRIDGE  lor 

"No,  don't  be  frightened,"  he  said,  quite  gently.  "I 
don't  ask  you  for  any  promise.  Sheila,  you  must  know  I 
love  you — you  must  have  seen  it.  Will  you  not  let  me 
come  to  you  at  some  future  time — a  long  way  off — that  you 
may  tell  me  then  ?  Won't  you  try  to  do  that  ?  " 

There  was  more  in  the  tone  of  his  voice  than  in  his  words. 
The  girl  stood  irresolute  for  a  second  or  two,  regarding  him 
with  a  strange,  wistful,  earnest  look  ;  and  then  a  great 
gentleness  came  into  her  eyes,  and  she  put  out  her  hand  to 
him,  and  said,  in  a  low  voice — 

"  Perhaps  ! " 

But  there  was  something  so  grave  and  simple  about  her 
manner  at  this  moment  that  he  dared  not,  somehow,  receive 
it  as  a  lover  receives  the  first  admission  of  love  from  the 
lips  of  a  maiden.  There  had  been  something  of  a  strange 
inquiry  in  her  face  as  she  regarded  him  for  a  second  or  two  ; 
and  now  that  her  eyes  were  bent  on  the  ground,  it  seemed 
to  him  that  she  was  trying  to  realize  the  full  effect  of  the 
concession  she  had  made.  He  would  not  let  her  think.  He 
took  her  hand  and  raised  it  respectfully  to  his  lips,  and  then 
he  led  her  forward  to  the  bridge.  Not  a  word  was  spoken 
between  them  while  they  crossed  the  shining  space  of 
moonlight  to  the  shadow  of  the  house  ;  and  as  they  went 
indoors  he  caught  but  one  glimpse  of  her  eyes,  and  they 
were  friendly  and  kind  towards  him,  but  evidently  troubled. 
He  saw  her  no  more  that  night. 

So  he  had  asked  Sheila  to  be  his  wife  ;  nnd  she  had  given 
him  some  timid  encouragement  as  to  the  future.  Many  a 
time  within  these  last  few  days  had  he  sketched  out  an 
imaginative  picture  of  the  scene.  He  was  familiar  with  the 
passionate  rapture  of  lovers  on  the  stage,  in  books,  and  in 
pictures ;  and  he  had  described  himself  (to  himself)  as 
intoxicated  with  joy,  anxious  to  let  the  whole  world  know  of 
his  good  fortune,  and  above  all  to  confide  the  tidings  of  his 
happiness  to  his  constant  friend  and  companion.  But  now, 
as  he  sat  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  he  almost  feared  to  be 
spoken  to  by  the  two  men  who  sat  at  the  table  with  steaming 
glasses  before  them.  He  dared  not  tell  Ingram  ;  he  had  no 
wish  to  tell  him,  even  if  he  had  got  him  alone.  And  as  he 
sat  there  and  recalled  the  incident  that  had  just  occurred  by 
the  side  of  the  little  bridge,  he  could  not  wholly  understand 


164  A  PRINCESS  OF 

its  meaning.  There  had  been  none  of  the  eagerness,  the 
coyness,  the  tumult  of  joy  he  had  expected  :  all  he  could 
remember  clearly  was  the  long  look  that  the  large,  earnest, 
troubled  eyes  had  fixed  upon  him,  while  the  girl's  face, 
grown  pale  in  the  moonlight,  seemed  somehow  ghostlike 
and  strange. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

AN   INTERMEDDLER. 

BUT  in  the  morning  all  these  idle  fancies  fled  with  the  life 
and  colour  and  freshness  of  a  new  day.  Loch  Barvas  was 
ruffled  into  a  dark  blue  by  the  westerly  wind  ;  and  doubtless 
the  sea  out  there  was  rushing  in,  green  and  cold,  to  the 
shore.  The  sunlight  was  warm  about  the  house.  The  trout 
were  leaping  in  the  shallow  brown  streams  ;  and  here  and 
there  a  white  butterfly  fluttered  across  the  damp  meadows. 
Was  not  that  Duncan  down  by  the  river,  accompanied  by 
Ingram  ?  There  was  a  glimmer  of  a  rod  in  the  sunshine  ; 
the  two  poachers  were  after  trout  for  Sheila's  breakfast. 

Lavender  dressed,  went  outside,  and  looked  about  for  the 
nearest  way  down  to  the  stream.  He  wished  to  have  a 
chance  of  saying  a  word  to  his  friend  before  Sheila  or  her 
father  should  appear.  And  at  last  he  thought  he  could  do 
no  better  than  go  across  to  the  bridge,  and  so  make  his 
way  down  the  banks  of  the  river. 

What  a  fresh  morning  it  was,  with  all  sorts  of  sweet  scents 
in  the  air !  And  here,  sure  enough,  was  a  pretty  picture 
in  the  early  light — a  young  girl  coming  over  the  bridge 
carrying  a  load  of  green  grass  on  her  back.  What  would 
she  say  if  he  asked  her  to  stop  for  a  moment  that  he  might 
sketch  her  pretty  costume  ?  Her  head-dress  was  a  scarlet 
handkerchief,  tied  behind  ;  she  wore  a  tight-fitting  bodice 
of  cream-white  flannel,  and  petticoats  of  grey  flannel ;  while 
she  had  a  waist-belt  and  poach  of  brilliant  blue.  Did  she 
know  of  these  harmonies  of  colour,  or  of  the  picturesqueness 
of  her  appearance  as  she  came  across  the  bridge  in  the 
sunlight  ?  As  she  drew  near  she  stared  at  the  stranger 
with  the  big,  dumb  eyes  of  a  wild  animal.  There  was  no 
fear,  only  a  sort  of  surprised  observation  in  them.  And  as 


AN  INTERMEDDLES.  103 

she  passed,  she  uttered,  without  a  smile,  some  brief  and 
laconic  salutation  in  Gaelic,  which,  of  course,  the  young 
man  could  not  understand.  He  raised  his  cap,  however, 
and  said,  "  Good  morning  !  "  and  went  on,  with  a  fixed 
resolve  to  learn  all  the  Gaelic  that  Duncan  could  teach  him. 

Surely  the  tall  keeper  was  in  excellent  spirits  this 
morning.  Long  before  he  drew  near  Lavender  could  hear, 
in  the  stillness  of  the  morning,  that  he  was  telling  stories 
about  John  the  Piper  and  of  his  adventures  in  such  distant 
parts  as  Fortree,  and  Oban,  and  even  in  Glasgow. 

"  And  it  wass  Allan  M'Gillivray,  of  Styornoway,"  Duncan 
was  saying,  as  he  industriously  whipped  the  shallow  runs  of 
the  stream,  "  will  go  to  Glasgow  with  John  ;  and  they  went 
through  ta  Crinan  Canal.  Wass  you  through  ta  Criuan 
Canal,  sir  ?  " 

"  Many  a  time." 

"  Ay,  jist  that.  And  I  hef  been  told  it  iss  like  a  river 
with  ta  sides  o'  ta  house  to  it ;  and  what  would  Allan  care 
for  a  thing  like  that,  when  he  hass  been  to  America  more 
than  twice  or  four  times  ?  And  it  wass  when  he  fell  into  the 
canal,  he  was  ferry  nearly  trooned  for  all  that ;  and  when 
they  pulled  him  to  ta  shore,  he  wass  a  ferry  angry  man.  And 
this  iss  what  John  says  that  Allan  will  say  when  he  wass  on 
the  side  of  the  canal  :  '  KottJ  says  he,  '  if  I  wass  trooned 
litre,  I  would  show  my  face  in  Styornoway  no  more ! '  But 
perhaps  it  iss  not  true  ;  for  he  will  tell  many  lies,  does  John 
the  Piper,  to  hef  a  laugh  at  a  man." 

"  The  Criuan  Canal  is  not  to  be  despised,  Duncan,"  said 
Ingram,  who  was  sitting  on  the  red  sand  of  the  bank, "  when 
you  are  in  it." 

"  And  do  you  know  what  John  says  that  Allan  will  say  to 
him  the  first  time  they  went  ashore  at  Glasgow  ?  " 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't." 

"  It  wass  many  years  ago,  before  that  Allan  will  be  going 
many  times  to  America,  and  he  will  neffer  hef  seen  such  fine 
shops,  and  ta  big  houses,  and  hundreds  and  hundreds  of 
people,  every  one  with  shoes  on  their  feet.  And  he  will  say 
to  John, '  John,  ef  Iliad  known  in  time,  I  should  hef  been  lorn 
here.'  But  no  one  will  believe  it  iss  true  ;  he  is  such  a  teflde 
of  a  liar,  that  John  ;  and  he  will  hef  some  stories  about  Mr. 
Mackenzie  hiuiodf,  as  I  hef  been  told,  thr.t  he  will  tell  when 


104  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

he  goes  to  Styornoway.     But  John  is  a  f erry  cunning  fellow, 
and  will  not  tell  any  such  stories  in  Borva." 

"  I  suppose  if  he  did,  Duncan,  you  would  dip  him  in  Loch 
Roag  ?  " 

"  Oh,  there  iss  more  than  one,"  said  Duncan,  with  a  grim 
twinkle  in  his  eye,  "  there  iss  more  than  one  that  would 
hef  a  joke  with  him,  if  he  wass  to  tell  stories  about  Mr. 
Mackenzie." 

Lavender  had  been  standing  listening,  unknown  to  both. 
He  now  went  forward,  and  bade  them  good  morning  ;  and 
then,  having  had  a  look  at  the  trout  that  Duncan  had 
caught,  pulled  Ingram  up  from  the  bank,  put  his  arm  in 
his,  and  walked  away  with  him. 

"  Ingram,"  he  said  suddenly,  with  a  laugh  and  a  shrug, 
"  you  know  I  always  come  to  you  when  I'm  in  a  fix." 

"  I  suppose  you  do,"  said  the  other,  "  and  you  are  always 
welcome  to  whatever  help  I  can  give  you.  But  sometimes 
it  seems  to  me  you  rush  into  fixes,  with  the  sort  of  notion 
that  I  am  responsible  for  getting  you  out." 

"  I  can  assure  you  nothing  of  the  kind  is  the  case.  I 
could  not  be  so  ungrateful.  However — in  the  meantime — 
that  is — the  fact  is,  I  asked  Sheila  last  night  if  she  would 
marry  me " 

"  The  devil  you  did  ! " 

Ingram  dropped  his  companion's  arm,  and  stood  looking 
at  him. 

"  Well,  I  knew  you  would  be  angry,"  said  the  younger 
man,  in  a  tone  of  apology.  "  And  I  know  I  have  been  too 
precipitate  ;  but  I  thought  of  the  short  time  we  should  be 
remaining  here,  and  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  an  explana- 
tion made  at  another  time,  and  it  was  really  only  to  give 
her  a  hint  as  to  my  own  feelings  that  I  spoke.  I  could  not 
bear  to  wait  any  longer "  , 

"  Never  mind  about  yourself,"  said  Ingram,  somewhat 
curtly  ;  "  what  did  Sheila  say  ?  " 

"  Well,  nothing  definite.  What  could  you  expect  a  girl 
to  say  after  so  short  an  acquaintance  ?  But  this  I  can  tell 
you,  that  the  proposal  is  not  altogether  distasteful  to  her, 
and  that  I  have  her  permission  to  speak  of  it  at  some  future 
time,  when  we  have  known  each  other  longer." 

"  You  have  ?  " 


AN  1NTERMEDDLER  105 

"Yes." 

"  You  are  quite  sure  ?  " 

"  Certain." 

"There  is  no  mistake  about  her  silence,  for  example, 
that  might  have  led  you  into  misinterpreting  her  wishes 
altogether  ?  " 

"  Nothing  of  the  kind  is  possible.  Of  course,  I  could  not 
ask  the  girl  for  any  promise,  or  anything  of  that  sort.  All 
I  asked  was  whether  she  would  allow  me  at  some  future 
time  to  speak  more  definitely  ;  and  I  am  so  well  satisfied 
with  the  reply  that  I  am  convinced  I  shall  marry  her." 

"  And  is  this  the  fix  you  wish  me  to  help  you  out  of  ?  " 
said  Ingram,  rather  coldly. 

"Now,  Ingram,"  said  the  younger  man,  in  penitential 
tones,  "  don't  cut  up  rough  about  it.  You  know  what  I 
mean.  Perhaps  I  have  been  hasty  and  inconsiderate  about 
it ;  but  of  one  thing  you  may  be  sure,  that  Sheila  will  never 
have  to  complain  of  me  if  she  marries  me.  You  say  I  don't 
know  her  yet  ? — but  there  will  be  plenty  of  tune  before  we 
are  married.  I  don't  propose  to  carry  her  off  to-morrow 
morning.  Xow,  Ingram,  you  know  what  I  mean  about 
helping  me  in  a  fix — helping  me  with  her  father,  you  know, 
and  with  herself,  for  the  matter  of  that.  You  can  do  any- 
thing with  her,  she  has  such  a  belief  in  you.  You  should 
hear  how  she  talks  of  you — you  never  heard  anything 
like  it." 

It  was  an  innocent  bit  of  flattery ;  and  Ingram  smiled 
good-naturedly  at  the  boy's  ingenuousness.  After  all,  was 
he  not  more  lovable  and  more  sincere  in  this  little  bit  of 
simple  craft,  used  in  the  piteousness  of  his  appeal,  than  when 
he  was  giving  himself  the  airs  of  a  man  about  town,  and 
talking  of  women  in  a  fashion  which,  to  do  him  justice, 
expressed  nothing  of  his  real  sentiments  ? 

Ingram  walked  on,  and  said,  in  his  slow  and  deliberate 
way — 

"  You  know  I  opposed  this  project  of  yours  from  the  first. 
I  don't  think  you  have  acted  fairly  by  Sheila,  or  her  father, 
or  myself,  who  brought  you  here.  But  if  Sheila  has  been 
drawn  into  it,  why,  then,  the  whole  affair  is  altered,  and 
we've  got  to  make  the  best  of  a  bad  business." 

"  I  was  sure  you  would  say  that,"  exclaimed  the  younger 


man,  with  a  brighter  light  appearing  on  his  face.  "  You 
may  call  me  all  the  hard  names  you  like  ;  I  deserve  them 
all,  and  more.  But  then,  as  you  say,  since  Sheila  is  in  it, 
you'll  do  your  best,  won't  you  ?  " 

Frank  Lavender  could  not  make  out  why  the  taciturn 
and  sallow-faced  man  walking  beside  him  seemed  to  be 
greatly  amused  by  this  speech  ;  but  he  was  in  no  humour 
to  take  offence.  He  knew  that,  once  Ingram  had  promised 
him  his  help,  he  would  not  lack  all  the  advocacy,  the  advice, 
and  even  the  money — should  that  become  necessary — that  a 
warm-hearted  and  disinterested  friend  could  offer.  Many 
and  many  a  time  Ingram  had  helped  him  ;  and  now  he  was 
to  come  to  his  assistance  in  the  most  serious  crisis  of  his  life. 
Ingram  would  remove  Sheila's  doubts.  Ingram  would 
persuade  old  Mackenzie  that  girls  had  to  get  married  some 
time  or  other,  and  that  Sheila  ought  to  live  in  London. 
Ingram  would  be  commissioned  to  break  the  news  to  Mrs. 
Lavender — but  here,  when  the  young  man  thought  of  the 
interview  with  his  aunt  which  he  would  have  to  encounter, 
a  cold  shiver  passed  through  his  frame.  He  would  not  think 
of  it.  He  would  enjoy  the  present  hour.  Difficulties  only 
grew  the  bigger  the  more  they  were  looked  at ;  when  they 
were  left  to  themselves,  they  frequently  disappeared.  It 
was  another  proof  of  Ingram's  kindliness  that  he  had  not 
even  mentioned  the  old  lady  down  in  Kensington,  who  was 
likely  to  have  something  to  say  about  this  marriage. 

"  There  are  a  great  many  difficulties  in  the  way,"  said 
Ingram,  thoughtfully. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lavender,  with  much  eagerness  ;  "  but  then, 
look.  You  may  be  sure  that  if  we  get  over  these,  Sheila 
will  know  well  who  managed  it,  and  she  will  not  be  un- 
grateful to  you,  I  think.  If  we  ever  should  be  married,  I 
am  certain  she  will  always  regard  you  as  her  greatest  friend." 

"  It  is  a  big  bribe,"  said  the  elder  man,  perhaps  a  trifle 
sadly  ;  and  Lavender  looked  at  him  with  some  vague 
return  of  a  suspicion  that  some  time  or  other  Ingram  must 
himself  have  been  in  love  with  Sheila. 

They  returned  to  the  inn,  where  they  found  Mackenzie 
busy  with  a  heap  of  letters  and  newspapers  that  had  been 
sent  across  to  him  from  Stornoway.  The  whole  of  the 
breakfast-table  was  Uttered  with  wrappers  and  big  blue 


Ati  INTERMEDDLER  167 

envelopes  :  where  was  Sheila,  who  usually  waited  on  her 
father  at  such  times  to  keep  his  affairs  in  order  ? 

Sheila  was  outside ;  and  Lavender  saw  her  through  the 
open  window.  "Was  she  not  waiting  for  him,  that  she 
should  pace  up  and  down  by  herself  with  her  face  turned 
away  from  the  house  ?  He  immediately  went  out,  and 
went  over  to  her,  and  she  turned  to  him  as  he  approached. 
He  fancied  she  looked  a  trifle  pale,  and  far  less  bright  and 
joyous  than  the  ordinary  Sheila. 

"  Mr.  Lavender,"  she  said,  walking  away  from  the  house, 
"  I  wish  very  much  to  speak  to  you  for  a  moment.  Last 
night — it  was  all  a  misfortune  that  I  did  not  understand — 
and  I  wish  you  to  forget  that  a  word  was  ever  spoken  about 
that." 

Her  head  was  bent  down,  and  her  speech  was  low  and 
broken  ;  what  she  failed  to  explain  in  words,  her  manner 
explained  for  her.  But  her  companion  said  to  her,  with 
alarm  and  surprise  in  his  tone — 

"  Why,  Sheila  !  You  cannot  be  so  cruel.  Surely  you  need 
not  fear  any  embarrassment  through  so  slight  a  promise. 
It  pledges  you  to  nothing — it  leaves  you  quite  free — and 
some  day,  if  I  come  and  ask  you  then  a  question  I  have  not 
asked  you  yet — that  will  be  time  enough  to  give  me  an 
answer." 

"  Oh,  no,  no  !  "  said  the  girl,  obviously  in  great  distress. 
"  I  cannot  do  that.  It  is  unjust  to  you  to  let  you  think 
of  it  and  hope  about  it.  It  was  last  night  everything  was 
strange  to  me — I  did  not  understand  then — but  I  have 
thought  about  it  all  the  night  through,  and  now  I  know." 

"  Sheila  !  "  called  her  father  from  the  inside  of  the  inn  ; 
and  she  turned  to  go. 

"  But  you  do  not  ask  that,  do  you  ?  "  he  said.  "  You  are 
only  frightened  a  little  bit  just  now  ;  but  that  will  go  away. 
There  is  nothing  to  be  frightened  about.  You  have  been 
thinking  over  it,  and  imagining  impossible  things — you 
have  been  thinking  of  leaving  Borva  altogether " 

*'  Oh,  that  I  can  never  do  !  "  she  said,  with  a  pathetic 
earnestness. 

"  But  why  think  of  such  a  thing  ?  "  he  said.  "  You  need 
not  look  at  all  the  possible  troubles  of  life  when  you  take 
such  a  simple  step  as  this.  Sheila,  don't  be  hasty  in  any 


such  resolve ;  you  may  be  sure  all  the  gloomy  things  you 
have  been  thinking  of  will  disappear  when  we  get  close  to 
them.  And  this  is  such  a  simple  thing.  I  don't  ask  you  to 
say  you  will  be  my  wife — I  have  no  right  to  ask  you  yet ; 
but  I  have  only  asked  permission  of  you  to  let  me  think  of 
it,  and  even  Mr.  Ingram  sees  no  great  harm  in  that " 

"  Does  he  know  ?  "  she  said,  with  a  start  of  surprise  and 
fear. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lavender,  wishing  he  had  bitten  his  tongue 
in  two  before  he  had  uttered  the  word.  "  You  know  we 
have  no  secrets  from  each  other  :  and  to  whom  could  I  go 
for  advice  but  to  your  oldest  friend  ?  " 

"  And  what  did  he  say  ?  "  she  asked,  with  a  strange  look 
in  her  eyes. 

"  Well,  he  sees  a  great  many  difficulties  ;  but  he  thinks 
they  will  easily  be  got  over." 

"  Then,"  she  said,  with  her  eyes  again  cast  down,  and  a 
certain  sadness  in  her  tone, "  I  must  explain  to  him  too,  and 
tell  him  I  had  no  understanding  of  what  I  said  last  night." 

"  Sheila,  you  won't  do  that !  "  urged  the  young  man. 
"  It  means  nothing — it  pledges  you  to  nothing " 

"  Sheila  !  Sheila ! "  cried  her  father,  cheerily,  from  the 
window  ;  "  come  in  and  let  us  hef  our  breakfast." 

"  Yes,  papa,"  said  the  girl ;  and  she  went  into  the  house, 
followed  by  her  companion. 

But  how  could  she  find  an  opportunity  of  making  this 
explanation  ?  Shortly  after  breakfast,  the  waggonette  was 
at  the  door  of  the  little  Barvas  inn,  and  Sheila  came  out  of 
the  house,  and  took  her  place  in  it,  with  an  unusual  quiet- 
ness of  manner  and  hopelessness  of  look.  Ingram,  sitting 
opposite  to  her,  and  knowing  nothing  of  what  had  taken 
place,  fancied  that  this  was  but  an  expression  of  girlish 
timidity  ;  and  that  it  was  his  business  to  interest  her  and 
amuse  her,  until  she  should  forget  the  strangeness  and 
newness  of  her  position.  Nay,  as  he  had  resolved  to  make 
the  best  of  matters  as  they  stood,  and  as  he  believed  that 
Sheila  had  half  confessed  to  a  special  liking  for  his  friend 
from  the  South,  what  more  fitting  thing  could  he  do  than 
endeavour  to  place  Lavender  in  the  most  favourable  light 
in  her  eyes  ?  He  began  to  talk  of  all  the  brilliant  and 
successful  things  the  young  man  had  done,  as  fully  as  he 


AN  INTERMEDDLER  109 

could  before  himself.  He  contrived  to  introduce  pretty 
anecdotes  of  Lavender's  generosity  ;  and  there  were  plenty 
of  these,  for  the  young  fellow  had  never  a  thought  of 
consequences  if  he  was  touched  by  a  tale  of  distress,  i  and 
if  he  could  help  the  sufferer  either  with  his  own  or  any 
one  else's  money.  Ingram  talked  of  all  their  excursions 
together,  in  Devonshire,  in  Brittany,  and  elsewhere,  to 
impress  on  Sheila  how  well  he  knew  his  friend,  and  how 
long  their  intimacy  had  lasted.  At  first  the  girl  was 
singularly  reserved  and  silent ;  but  somehow,  as  pleasant 
recollections  were  multiplied,  and  as  Lavender  seemed  to 
have  been  always  the  associate  and  companion  of  this  old 
friend  of  hers,  some  brighter  expression  came  into  her  face, 
and  she  grew  more  interested.  Lavender,  not  knowing 
whether  to  take  her  decision  of  that  morning  as  final,  and 
not  wholly  perceiving  the  aim  of  this  kindly  chat  on  the 
part  of  his  friend,  began  to  see  at  least  that  Sheila  was 
pleased  to  hear  the  two  men  help  out  each  other's  stories 
about  their  pedestrian  excursions,  and  that  she  at  last  grew 
bold  enough  to  look  up  and  meet  his  eyes  in  a  timid 
fashion  when  she  asked  him  a  question. 

So  they  drove  along  by  the  side  of  the  sea,  the  level  and 
well-made  road  leading  them  through  miles  and  miles  of 
rough  moorland,  with  here  and  there  a  few  huts  or  a  sheep- 
fold  to  break  the  monotony  of  the  undulating  sky-line. 
Here  and  there,  too,  there  were  great  cuttings  of  the  peat- 
moss, with  a  thin  line  of  water  in  the  foot  of  the  deep  black 
trenches.  Sometimes,  again,  they  would  escape  altogether 
from  any  traces  of  human  habitation  ;  and  Duncan  would 
grow  excited  in  pointing  out  to  Miss  Sheila  the  young  grouse 
that  had  run  off  the  road  into  the  heather,  where  they  stood 
and  eyed  the  passing  carriage  with  anything  but  a  frightened 
air.  And  while  Mackenzie  hummed  something  resembling, 
but  very  vaguely  resembling,  "  Love  in  thine  eyes  for  ever 
plays,"  and  while  Ingram,  in  his  quiet,  desultory,  and  often 
sardonic  fashion,  amused  the  young  girl  with  stories  /of  her 
lover's  bravery,  and  kindness,  and  dare-devil  escapades,  the 
merry  trot  of  the  horses  beat  time  to  the  bells  on  their 
necks,  the  fresh  west  wind  blew  a  cloud  of  white  dust  away 
over  the  moorland  behind,  there  was  a  blue  sky  shining  all 
around,  and  the  blue  Atlantic  flashing  in  the  light. 


no  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

They  stopped  for  a  few  minutes  at  both  the  hamlets  of 
Suainabost  and  Tabost  to  allow  Sheila  to  pay  a  hurried  visit 
to  one  or  two  of  the  huts,  while  Mackenzie,  laying  hold  of 
some  of  the  fishermen  he  knew,  got  them  to  show  Lavender 
the  curing-houses,  in  which  the  young  gentleman  professed 
himself  profoundly  interested.  They  also  visited  the  school- 
house  ;  and  Lavender  found  himself  beginning  to  look  upon 
a  two-storied  building  with  windows  as  something  imposing, 
and  a  decided  triumph  of  human  skill  and  enterprise.  But 
what  was  the  schoolhouse  of  Tabost  to  the  grand  building 
at  the  Butt  ?  They  had  driven  away  from  the  high  road 
by  a  path  leading  through  long  and  sweet-smelling  pastures 
of  Dutch  clover.  They  had  got  up  from  these  sandy  swathes 
to  a  lofty  table-land  ;  and  here  and  there  they  caught 
glimpses  of  fearful  precipices  leading  sheer  down  to  the 
boiling  and  dashing  sea.  The  curious  contortions  of  the 
rocks — the  sharp  needles  of  them  springing  in  isolated  pillars 
from  out  of  the  water — the  roar  of  the  eddying  currents 
that  swept  through  the  chasms  and  dashed  against  the  iron- 
bound  shore — the  wild  sea-birds  that  flew  about  and  screamed 
over  the  rushing  waves  and  the  surge,  naturally  enough  drew 
the  attention  of  the  strangers  altogether  away  from  the 
land  ;  and  it  was  with  a  start  of  surprise  they  found  them- 
selves before  an  immense  mass  of  yellow  stone-work — walls, 
house,  and  tower — that  shone  in  the  sunlight.  And  here 
were  the  lighthouse-keeper  and  his  wife,  delighted  to  see 
strange  faces,  and  most  hospitably  inclined  ;  insomuch  that 
Lavender,  who  cared  little  for  luncheon  at  any  time,  was 
constrained  to  take  as  much  bread,  and  cheese,  and  butter, 
and  whisky  as  would  have  made  a  ploughman's  dinner.  It 
was  a  strange  sort  of  meal  this,  away  out  at  the  end  of  the 
world,  as  it  were.  The  snug  little  room  might  have  been  in 
the  Marylebone-road  ;  there  were  photographs  about,  a  gay 
label  on  the  whisky-bottle,  and  other  signs  of  an  advanced 
civilization  ;  but  outside  nothing  but  the  wild  precipices  of 
the  coast — a  surging  sea  that  seemed  almost  to  surround 
the  place — the  wild  screaming  of  the  sea-birds,  and  a  single 
ship  appearing  like  a  speck  on  the  northern  horizon. 

They  had  not  noticed  the  wind  much  as  they  drove  along  ; 
but  now,  when  they  went  out  on  to  the  high  table-land  of 
rock,  it  seemed  to  be  blowing  half  ft  gale  across  the  sea. 


AN  INTERMEDDLER  \  1 1 

The  sunlight  sparkled  on  the  glass  of  the  lighthouse,  and  the 
great  yellow  shaft  of  stone  stretched  away  upward  into  a 
perfect  blue.  As  clear  a  blue  lay  far  beneath  them,  where 
the  sea  came  rushing  in  among  the  lofty  crags  and  sharp  pin- 
nacles, bursting  into  foam  at  their  feet,  and  sending  long 
jets  of  white  spray  up  into  the  air.  In  front  of  the  perpen- 
dicular cliffs,  the  sea-birds  wheeled  and  screamed  ;  and  on  the 
points  of  some  of  the  islands  stood  several  scarts,  motionless 
figures  of  jet  black  on  the  soft  brown  and  green  of  the  rock. 
And  what  was  this  island  they  looked  down  upon  from  over 
one  of  the  bays  ?  Surely  a  mighty  reproduction  by  Nature 
herself  of  the  Sphinx  of  the  Egyptian  plains.  Could  any- 
thing have  been  more  striking,  and  unexpected,  and  im- 
pressive than  the  sudden  discovery  of  this  great  mass  of  rock 
resting  in  the  wild  sea,  its  hooded  head  turned  away  towards 
the  north  and  hidden  from  the  spectator  on  land,  its  gigantic 
bulk  surrounded  by  a  foam  of  breakers  ?  Lavender,  with 
his  teeth  set  hard  against  the  wind,  must  needs  take  down 
the  outlines  of  this  strange  scene  upon  paper  ;  while  Sheila 
crouched  into  her  father's  side  for  shelter,  and  Ingram  was 
chiefly  engaged  in  holding  on  to  his  cap. 

"  It  blows  here  a  bit,"  said  Lavender,  amid  the  roar  of 
the  waves.  "  I  suppose  in  the  winter  time  the  sea  will 
sometimes  break  across  this  place  ?  " 

"  Ay,  and  over  the  top  of  the  lighthouse,  too,"  said  Mac- 
kenzie, with  a  laugh,  as  though  he  was  rather  proud  of  the 
way  his  native  seas  behaved. 

"  Sheila,"  said  Ingram,  "  I  never  saw  you  take  refuge 
from  the  wind  before." 

"  It  is  because  we  will  be  standing  still,"  said  the  girl, 
with  a  smile  which  was  scarcely  visible  because  she  had  half 
hidden  her  face  in  her  father's  great  grey  beard.  "  But 
when  Mr.  Lavender  is  finished,  we  will  go  down  to  the  great 
hole  in  the  rocks  that  you  have  seen  before,  and  perhaps 
he  will  make  a  picture  of  that  too." 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  you  would  go  down  there,  Sheila," 
said  Ingram,  "  and  in  this  wind  ?  " 

"  I  hef  been  down  many  times  before." 

"  Indeed,  you  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind,  Sheila,"  said 
her  father  :  "  you  will  go  back  to  the  lighthouse,  if  you 
like— yes,  you  may  do  that ;  and  J  will  go  down  the  rocks 


TI2  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

with  Mr.  Lavender ;  but  it  iss  not  for  a  young  lady  to  go 
about  among  the  rocks,  like  a  fisherman's  lad  that  wants  the 
bird's  eggs,  or  such  nonsense." 

It  was  quite  evident  that  Mackenzie  had  very  little  fear 
of  his  daughter  not  being  able  to  accomplish  the  descent  of 
the  rocks  safely  enough  ;  it  was  simply  a  matter  of  dignity  ; 
and  so  Sheila  was  at  length  persuaded  to  go  across  the  plain 
to  a  sheltered  place  to  wait  there  until  the  others  should 
clamber  down  to  the  great  and  naturally-formed  tunnel 
through  the  rocks  that  the  artist  was  to  sketch. 

Lavender  was  ill  at  ease.  He  followed  his  guide  mechani- 
cally as  they  made  their  way,  in  zigzag  fashion,  down  the 
precipitous  slopes  and  over  slippery  plateaus  ;  and  when  at 
last  he  came  in  sight  of  the  mighty  arch,  the  long  cavern, 
and  the  glimmer  of  sea  and  shore  that  could  be  seen  through 
it,  he  began  :to  put  down  the  outlines  of  the  picture  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  but  with  little  interest  in  the  matter. 
Ingram  was  sitting  on  the  bare  rocks  beside  him  ;  Mackenzie 
was  some  distance  off  :  should  he  tell  his  friend  of  what 
Sheila  had  said  in  the  morning  ?  Strict  honesty,  perhaps, 
demanded  as  much  ;  but  the  temptation  to  say  nothing  was 
great.  For  it  was  evident  that  Ingram  was  now  well  in- 
clined to  the  project,  and  would  do  his  best  to  help  it  on  ; 
whereas,  if  once  he  knew  that  Sheila  had  resolved  against 
it,  he  too  might  take  some  sudden  step — such  as  insisting  on 
their  immediate  return  to  the  mainland — which  would  settle 
the  matter  for  ever.  Sheila  had  said  she  would  herself  make 
the  necessary  explanation  to  Ingram,  but  she  had  not  done 
so  ;  perhaps  she  might  lack  the  courage  or  an  opportunity 
to  do  so ;  and  in  the  meantime  was  not  the  interval  alto- 
gether favourable  to  his  chances  ?  Doubtless  she  was  a  little 
bit  frightened  at  first.  She  would  soon  get  less  timid  ;  and 
would  relent,  and  revoke  her  decision  of  the  morning.  He 
would  not,  at  present  at  any  rate,  say  anything  to  Ingram. 

But  when  they  had  got  up  again  to  the  summit  of  the 
cliffs,  an  incident  occurred  that  considerably  startled  him  out 
of  these  vague  and  anxious  speculations.  He  walked  straight 
over  to  the  sheltered  spot  in  which  Sheila  was  waiting.  The 
rushing  of  the  wind  doubtless  drowned  the  sound  of  his 
footsteps,  so  that  he  came  on  her  unawares  ;  and  on  seeing 
him  she  rose  suddenly  from  the  rock  on  which  she  had  been 


AN  INTERMEDDLER  113 

sitting,  with  some  effort  to  hide  her  face  away  from  him. 
But  he  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  something  in  her  eyes  that 
filled  him  with  remorse. 

"  Sheila,"  he  said,  going  forward  to  her,  "  what  is  the 
matter  ?  What  are  you  unhappy  about  ?  " 

She  could  not  answer  ;  she  held  her  face  turned  from  him, 
and  cast  down  ;  and  then,  seeing  her  father  and  Ingram  in 
the  distance,  she  set  out  to  follow  them  to  the  lighthouse, 
Lavender  walking  by  her  side,  and  wondering  how  he  could 
deal  with  the  distress  that  was  only  too  clearly  written  on 
her  face. 

"  I  know  it  is  I  who  have  grieved  you,"  he  said,  in  a  low 
voice,  "  and  I  am  very  sorry.  But  if  you  will  tell  me  what 
I  can  do  to  remove  this  unhappiness,  I  will  do  it  now. 
Shall  I  consider  our  talking  of  last  night  as  if  it  had  not 
taken  place  at  all  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  in  as  low  a  voice,  but  clear,  and  sad,  and 
determined  in  its  tone. 

"And  I  shall  speak  no  more  to  you  about  this  affair 
until  I  go  away  altogether  ?  " 

And  again  she  signified  her  assent,  gravely  and  firmly. 

"  And  then,"  he  said,  "  you  will  soon  forget  all  about  it ; 
for  of  course,  I  shall  never  come  back  to  Lewis  again." 

"  Never  ?  " 

The  word  had  escaped  her  unwillingly,  and  it  was  accom- 
panied by  a  quick  upturning  of  the  face  and  a  frightened 
look  in  the  beautiful  eyes. 

"  Do  you  wish  me  to  come  back  ?  " 

"  I  should  not  wish  you  to  go  away  from  the  Lewis, 
through  any  fault  of  mine,  and  say  that  we  should  never  see 
you  again,"  said  the  girl,  in  measured  tones,  as  if  she  were 
nerving  herself  to  make  the  admission,  and  yet  fearful  of 
saying  too  much. 

By  this  time  Mackenzie  and  Ingram  had  gone  round  the 
big  wall  of  the  lighthouse  ;  there  were  no  human  beings  on 
this  lonely  bit  of  heath  but  themselves.  Lavender  stopped 
her,  and  took  her  hand,  and  said — 

"  Don't  you  see,  Sheila,  how  I  must  never  come  back  to 
Lewis,  if  all  this  is  to  be  forgotten  ?  And  all  I  want  you  to 
say  is  that  I  may  come  some  day  to  see  if  you  can  make  up 
your  mind  to  be  my  wife.  I  don't  ask  that  yet — it  is  out  of 

i 


U4  A  PRINCESS  Of  THULE 

the  question,  seeing  how  short  a  tune  you  have  known  any- 
thing about  me — and  I  cannot  expect  you  to  trust  me  as  I 
can  trust  you.  It  is  a  very  little  thing  I  ask — only  to  give 
me  a  chance  at  some  future  time,  and  then,  if  you  don't 
care  for  me  sufficiently  to  marry  me,  or  if  anything  stands 
in  the  way,  all  you  need  do  is  to  send  me  a  single  word,  and 
that  will  suffice.  This  is  no  terrible  thing  that  I  beg  from 
you,  Sheila.  You  needn't  be  afraid  of  it." 

But  she  was  afraid  ;  there  was  nothing  but  fear,  and 
doubt,  and  grief  in  her  eyes,  as  she  gazed  into  the  unknown 
world  laid  open  before  her. 

"  Can't  you  ask  some  one  to  tell  you  that  it  is  nothing 
dreadful — Mr.  Ingram,  for  example  ?  " 

"  I  could  not." 

"  Your  papa,  then,"  he  said,  driven  to  this  desperate 
resource  by  his  anxiety  to  save  her  from  pain. 

"  Not  yet — not  just  yet,"  she  said,  almost  wildly,  "  for 
how  could  I  explain  to  him  ?  He  would  ask  me  what  my 
wishes  were  :  what  could  I  say  ?  I  do  not  know.  I  cannot 
tell  myself  ;  and — and — I  have  no  mother  to  ask ; "  and 
here  all  the  strain  of  self-control  gave  way,  and  the  girl 
burst  into  tears. 

"  Sheila,  dear  Sheila,"  he  said,  "  why  won't  you  trust  your 
own  heart,  and  let  that  be  your  guide  ?  Won't  you  say  this 
one  word — Yes — and  tell  me  that  I  am  to  come  back  to 
Lewis  some  day,  and  ask  to  see  you,  and  get  a  message  from 
one  look  of  your  eyes  ?  Sheila,  may  I  not  come  back  ?  " 

If  there  was  a  reply,  it  was  so  low  that  he  scarcely  heard 
it ;  but  somehow — whether  from  the  small  hand  that  lay  in 
his,  or  from  the  eyes  that  sent  one  brief  message  of  trust 
and  hope  through  their  tears — his  question  was  answered  ; 
and  from  that  moment  he  felt  no  more  misgivings, 
but  let  his  love  for  Sheila  spread  out  and  blossom  in 
whatever  light  of  fancy  and  imagination  he  could  bring 
to  bear  on  it,  careless  of  any  future. 

How  the  young  fellow  laughed  and  joked,  as  the  party 
drove  away  again  from  the  Butt,  down  the  long  coast-road 
to  Barvas  !  He  was  tenderly  respectful,  and  a  little  moderate 
in  tone,  when  he  addressed  Sheila  ;  but  with  the  others  he 
gave  way  to  a  wild  exuberance  of  spirits  that  delighted 
Mackenzie  beyond  measure.  He  told  stories  of  the  odd  old 


A N  ItiTERMEDDLER  1 1  § 

gentlemen  of  his  club,  of  their  opinions,  their  ways,  their 
dress.  He  sang  the  song  of  the  Arethusa,  and  the  wilds  of 
Lewis  echoed  with  a  chorus  which  was  not  just  as  harmonious 
as  it  might  have  been.  He  sang  the  "  Jug  of  Punch,"  and 
Mackenzie  said  that  was  "  a  teffle  of  a  good  song."  He  gave 
imitations  of  some  of  Ingrain's  companions  at  the  Board  of 
Trade,  and  showed  Sheila  what  the  inside  of  a  Government 
Office  was  like.  He  paid  Mackenzie  the  compliment  of 
asking  him  for  a  drop  of  something  out  of  his  flask  ;  and  in 
return  he  insisted  on  the  King  smoking  a  cigar — which,  in 
point  of  age,  and  sweetness,  and  fragrance,  was  really  the 
sort  of  cigar  you  would  naturally  give  to  the  man  whose 
daughter  you  wanted  to  marry. 

Ingram  understood  all  this,  and  was  pleased  to  see  the 
happy  look  that  Sheila  wore.  He  talked  to  her  with  even  a 
greater  assumption  than  usual  of  fatherly  fondness  ;  and  if 
she  was  a  little  shy,  was  it  not  because  she  was  conscious  of 
so  great  a  secret  ?  Also  he  was  unusually  complaisant  to 
Lavender,  and  lost  no  opportunity  of  paying  him  indirect 
compliments  that  Sheila  could  overhear. 

"  You  poor  young  things  I  "  he  seemed  to  be  saying  to 
himself,  "  you've  got  all  your  troubles  before  you  ;  but  in  the 
meantime  you  may  make  yourselves  as  happy  as  you  can  !  " 

"Was  the  weather  at  last  about  to  break  ?  As  the  after- 
noon wore  on,  the  heavens  became  overcast,  for  the  wind 
had  gone  back  from  the  course  of  the  sun,  and  had  brought 
up  great  masses  of  cloud  from  the  rainy  south-west. 

"  Are  we  going  to  have  a  storm  ?  "  said  Lavender,  look- 
ing along  the  southern  sky,  where  the  Barvas  hills  were 
momentarily  growing  blacker  under  the  gathering  darkness 
overhead. 

"  A  storm  ?  "  said  Mackenzie,  whose  notions  on  what 
constituted  a  storm  were  probably  different  from  those  of 
his  guest.  "  No — there  will  be  no  storm.  But  it  is  no  bad 
thing  if  we  get  back  to  Barvas  very  soon." 

Duncan  sent  the  horses  on,  and  Ingram  looked  out  Sheila's 
waterproof  and  the  rugs.  The  southern  sky  certainly  looked 
ominous.  There  was  a  strange  intensity  of  colour  in  the 
dark  landscape,  from  the  deep  purple  of  the  Barvas  hills, 
coming  forward  to  the  deep  green  of  the  pasture-land  around 
them,  and  the  rich  reds  and  browns  of  the  heath  and  the 

I  2 


Ii6  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

peat-cuttings.  At  one  point  of  the  clouded  arid  hurrying 
sky,  however,  there  was  a  soft  and  vaporous  line  of  yellow 
in  the  grey  ;  and,  under  that,  miles  away  in  the  west,  a  great 
dash  of  silver  light  struck  upon  the  sea,  and  glowed  there  so 
that  the  eye  could  scarcely  bear  it.  Was  it  the  damp  that 
brought  the  perfumes  of  the  moorland  so  distinctly  towards 
them — the  bog-myrtle,  the  water-mint,  and  the  wild  thyme  ? 
There  were  no  birds  to  be  heard.  The  crimson  masses  of 
heather  on  the  grey  rocks  seemed  to  have  grown  richer  and 
deeper  in  colour ;  and  the  Barvas  hills  had  become  large 
and  opaque  in  the  gloom. 

"  Are  you  afraid  of  thunder  ?  "  said  Lavender  to  Sheila. 

"  No,"  said  the  girl,  looking  frankly  towards  him  with 
her  glad  eyes,  as  though  he  had  pleased  her  by  asking  that 
not  very  striking  question.  And  then  she  looked  round  at 
the  sea  and  the  sky  in  the  south,  and  said,  quietly,  "  But 
there  will  be  no  thunder  ;  it  is  too  much  wind." 

Ingram,  with  a  smile  which  he  could  scarcely  conceal, 
hereupon  remarked — 

"You're  sorry,  Lavender,  I  know.  Wouldn't  you  like 
to  shelter  somebody  in  danger,  or  attempt  a  rescue,  or  do 
something  heroic  ?  " 

"And  Mr.  Lavender  would  do  that,  if  there  was  any 
need,"  said  the  girl,  bravely  ;  "  and  then  it  would  be  nothing 
to  laugh  at." 

"Sheila,  you  bad  girl,  how  dare  you  talk  like  that  to 
me  !  "  said  Ingram  ;  and  he  put  his  arm  within  hers,  and 
said  he  would  tell  her  a  story. 

But  this  race  to  escape  the  storm  was  needless  ;  for  they 
were  just  getting  within  sight  of  Barvas,  when  a  surprising 
change  came  over  the  dark  and  thunderous  afternoon.  The 
hurrying  masses  of  cloud  in  the  west  parted  for  a  little  space, 
and  there  was  a  sudden  and  fitful  glimmer  of  a  stormy  blue 
sky.  Then  a  strange,  soft,  yellow,  and  vaporous  light  shot 
across  the  Barvas  hills,  and  touched  up  palely  the  great 
slopes,  rendering  them  distant,  ethereal,  and  cloud-like. 
Then  a  shaft  or  two  of  wild  light  flashed  down  upon  the 
landscape  beside  them.  The  cattle  shone  red  in  the  brilliant 
green  pastures.  The  grey  rocks  glowed  in  their  setting  of 
moss.  The  stream  going  by  Barvas  Inn  was  a  streak  of 
gold  in  its  sandy  bed.  Presently  the  sky  above  them  broke 


AN  INTERMEDDLER  117 

into  great  billows  of  cloud — tempestuous  and  rounded  masses 
of  golden  vapour,  that  burned  with  the  wild  glare  of  the 
sunset.  The  clear  spaces  in  the  sky  widened ;  and  from 
time  to  time  the  wind  sent  ragged  bits  of  saffron  cloud 
across' the  shining  blue.  All  the  world  seemed  to  be  on  fire  ; 
and  the  very  smoke  of  it — the  majestic  heaps  of  vapour  that 
rolled  by  overhead — burned  with  a  bewildering  glare.  Then, 
as  the  wind  still  blew  hard,  and  kept  veering  round  again 
to  the  north-west,  the  fiercely-lit  clouds  were  driven  over  one 
by  one,  leaving  a  pale  and  serene  sky  to  look  down  on  the 
sinking  sun  and  the  sea.  The  Atlantic  caught  the  yellow 
glow  on  its  tumbling  waves  ;  and  a  deeper  colour  stole  across 
the  slopes  and  peaks  of  the  Barvas  hills.  Whither  had  gone 
the  storm  ?  There  were  still  some  banks  of  cloud  away  up 
in  the  north-east ;  and  in  the  clear  green  of  the  evening 
sky,  they  had  their  distant  greys  and  purples  faintly  tinged 
with  rose. 

"And  so  you  are  anxious,  and  frightened,  and  a  little 
pleased,"  said  Ingram  to  Sheila  that  evening,  after  he  had 
frankly  told  her  what  he  knew,  and  invited  her  further 
confidence.  "  That  is  all  I  can  gather  from  you  ;  but  it  is 
enough.  Now  you  can  leave  the  rest  to  me." 

"  To  you  ?  "  said  the  girl,  with  a  blush  of  pleasure  and 
surprise. 

'•  Yes.  I  like  new  experiences.  I  am  going  to  become 
an  intermeddler  now.  I  am  going  to  arrange  this  affair, 
and  become  the  negotiator  between  all  the  parties ;  and 
then,  when  I  have  secured  the  happiness  of  the  whole  of 
you,  you  will  all  set  upon  me  and  beat  me  with  sticks,  and 
thrust  me  out  of  your  houses." 

"  I  do  not  think,"  said  Sheila,  looking  down,  "  that  you 
have  much  fear  of  that,  Mr.  Ingram." 

"  Is  the  world  going  to  alter  because  of  me  ?  " 

"  I  would  rather  not  have  you  try  to  do  anything  that  is 
likely  to  get  you  into  unhappiness,"  she  said. 

"  Oh,  but  that  is  absurd.  You  timid  young  folks  can't 
act  for  yourselves.  You  want  agents  and  instruments  that 
have  got  hardened  by  use.  Fancy  the  condition  of  our 
ancestors,  you  know,  before  they  had  the  sense  to  invent 
steel  claws  to  tear  their  food  in  pieces — what  could  they  do 
with  their  fingers  ?  I  am  going  to  be  your  knife  and  fork, 


n8  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Sheila  ;  and  you'll  sec  what  I  shall  carve  out  for  you.  All 
you've  got  to"  do  is  to  keep  your  spirits  up,  and  believe  that 
nothing  dreadful  is  going  to  take  place  merely  because  some 
day  you  will  be  asked  to  marry.  You  let  things  take  their 
ordinary  course.  Keep  your  spirits  up — don't  neglect  your 
music,  or  your  dinner,  or  your  poor  people  down  in  Borva- 
bost — and  you'll  see  it  will  all  come  right  enough.  In  a 
year  or  two,  or  less  than  that,  you  will  marry  contentedly 
and  happily,  and  your  papa  will  drink  a  good  glass  of 
whisky  at  the  wedding,  and  make  jokes  about  it,  and  every- 
thing will  be  as  right  as  the  mail.  That's  my  advice, — see 
you  attend  to  it." 

"  You  are  very  kind  to  me,"  said  the  girl,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  But  if  you  begin  to  cry,  Sheila,  then  I  throw  up  my 
duties — do  you  hear  ?  Now  look — there  goes  Mr.  Lavender 
down  to  the  boat  with  a  bundle  of  rugs ;  and  I  suppose 
you  mean  me  to  imperil  my  precious  life  by  sailing  about 
these  rocky  channels  in  the  moonlight  ?  Come  along  down 
to  the  shore  ;  and  mind  you  please  your  papa  by  singing 
'Love  in  thine  eyes,'  with  Mr.  Lavender.  And  if  you 
would  add  to  that  '  The  Minute  Gun  at  Sea ' — why,  you 
know,  I  may  as  well  have  my  little  rewards  for  inter- 
meddling now,  as  I  shall  have  to  suffer  afterwards." 

"  Not  through  me,"  said  Sheila,  in  rather  an  uncertain 
voice  ;  and  then  they  went  down  to  the  Maighdean-mliara. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"  0   TERQUE   QUATERQUE   BEATE  !  " 

CONSIDER  what  a  task  this  unhappy  man  Ingram  had 
voluntarily  undertaken  !  Here  were  two  young  people 
presumably  in  love.  One  of  them  was  laid  under  suspicion 
by  several  previous  love-affairs,  though  none  of  these,  doubt- 
less, had  been  so  serious  as  the  present.  The  other  scarcely 
knew  her  own  mind — or  perhaps  was  afraid  to  question 
herself  too  closely  lest  all  the  conflict  between  duty  and 
inclination,  with  its  fears  and  anxieties  and  troubles,  should 
be  too  suddenly  revealed.  Moreover,  this  girl  was  the  only 
daughter  of  a  solitary  and  irascible  old  gentleman  living  in 
a  remote  island  ;  and  Ingram  had  not  only  undertaken  that 


«  O  TERQ  UE  Q  UA  TERQ  UE  BE  A  TE/n         119 

the  love  affairs  of  the  young  folks  should  come  all  right — 
thus  assuming  a  responsibility  which  might  have  appalled 
the  bravest — but  was  also  expected  to  inform  the  King 
of  Borva  that  his  daughter  was  about  to  be  taken  away 
from  him. 

For  how  was  Sheila  to  go  to  her  father  and  explain  to  him 
what  she  could  not  explain  to  herself  ?  She  had  never 
dreamed  of  marriage.  She  had  never  thought  of  having  to 
leave  Borva  and  her  father's  house.  But  she  had  some 
vague  feeling  that  in  the  future  lay  many  terrible  possibilities 
that  she  did  not  as  yet  dare  to  look  at — until,  at  least,  she 
was  more  satisfied  as  to  the  present.  And  how  could  she 
go  to  her  father  with  such  a  chaos  of  unformed  wishes  and 
fears  to  place  before  him  ?  That  such  a  duty  should  have 
devolved  upon  Ingram  was  certainly  odd  enough  ;  but  it 
was  not  her  doing.  His  knowledge  of  the  position  of  these 
young  people  was  not  derived  from  her.  Having  got  it, 
however,  he  had  himself  asked  her  to  leave  the  whole  affair 
in  his  hands,  with  that  kindness  and  generosity  which  had 
more  than  once  filled  her  heart  with  an  unspeakable  grati- 
tude toward  him. 

••  Well,  you  are  a  good  fellow,"  said  Lavender  to  him, 
when  he  heard  of  this  decision. 

"  Bah  !  "  said  the  other,  with  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders  ; 
"  I  mean  to  amuse  myself.  I  shall  move  you  about  like 
pieces  on  a  chess-board,  and  have  a  pretty  game  with  you. 
How  to  checkmate  the  king  with  a  knight  and  a  princess — 
in  any  number  of  moves  you  like — that  is  the  problem ; 
and  my  princess  has  a  strong  power  over  the  king,  where 
she  is  just  now." 

"  It's  an  uncommonly  awkward  business,  you  know, 
Ingram,"  said  Lavender,  ruefully. 

"Well,  it  is.  Old  Mackenzie  is  a  tough  old  fellow  to 
deal  with  ;  and  you'll  do  no  good  by  making  a  fight  of  it. 
Wait.  Difficulties  don't  look  so  formidable  when  you  take 
them  one  by  one,  as  they  turn  up.  If  you  really  love  the 
girl,  and  mean  to  take  your  chance  of  getting  her,  and  if 
she  cares  enough  for  you  to  sacrifice  a  good  deal  for  your 
sake,  there  is  nothing  to  fear." 

"  I  can  answer  for  myself,  any  way,"  said  Lavender,  in  a 
tone  of  voice  that  Ingram  rather  liked  :  the  young  man 


120  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

did  not  always  speak  with  the  same  quietness,  thoughtful- 
ness  and  modesty. 

And  how  naturally  and  easily  it  came  about  after  all ! 
They  were  back  again  at  Borva.  They  had  driven  round 
and  about  Lewis,  and  had  finished  up  with  Stornoway  ;  and 
now  that  they  had  got  back  to  the  island  in  Loch  Roag, 
the  quaint  little  drawing-room  had  even  to  Lavender  a 
homely  and  friendly  look.  The  big  stuffed  fishes  and  the 
strange  shells  were  old  acquaintances  ;  and  he  went  to  hunt 
up  Sheila's  music  just  as  if  he  had  known  that  dusky  corner 
for  years. 

"  Yes,  yes  !  "  called  Mackenzie,  "  it  iss  the  English  songs 
we  will  try  now." 

He  had  a  notion  that  he  was  himself  rather  a  good  hand 
at  a  part  song — just  as  Sheila  had  innocently  taught  him  to 
believe  that  he  was  a  brilliant  whist-player  when  he  had 
mastered  the  art  of  returning  his  partner's  lead — but 
fortunately  at  this  moment  he  was  engaged  with  a  long 
pipe  and  a  big  tumbler  of  hot  whiskey  and  water.  Ingram 
was  similarly  employed,  lying  back  in  a  cane-bottomed  easy 
chair,  and  placidly  watching  the  smoke  ascending  to  the 
roof.  Sometimes  he  cast  an  eye  to  the  young  folks  at  the 
other  end  of  the  room.  They  formed  a  pretty  sight,  he 
thought.  Lavender  was  a  good-looking  fellow  enough ; 
and  there  was  something  pleasing  in  the  quiet  and  assiduous 
fashion  in  which  he  waited  upon  Sheila,  and  in  the  almost 
timid  way  in  which  he  spoke  to  her.  Sheila  herself  sat  at 
the  piano,  clad  all  in  slate-grey  silk,  with  a  narrow  band  of 
scarlet  velvet  round  her  neck  ;  and  it  was  only  by  a  chance 
turning  of  the  head  that  Ingram  caught  the  tender  and 
handsome  profile,  broken  only  by  the  outward  sweep  of  the 
long  eyelashes. 

"  Love  in  thine  eyes  for  ever  plays," 

Sheila  sang,  with  her  father  keeping  time  by  patting  his 
fore-finger  on  the  table. 

"  He  in  thy  snowy  bosom  strays," 
sang  Lavender  ;  and  then  the  two  voices  joined  together — 

"He  makes  thy  rosy  lips  his  care, 
And  walks  the  mazes  of  thy  hair," 


«  O  TERQ  UE  Q  UA  TERQ  UE  BE  A  TE!"         121 

Or  were  there  not  three  voices  ?  Surely,  from  the  back 
part  of  the  room,  the  musicians  could  hear  a  wandering 
bass  come  in  from  time  to  time,  especially  at  such  portions 
as  "  Ah,  he  never,  ah,  he  never,  never  touched  thy  heart  !  " 
which  old  Mackenzie  considered  very  touching.  But  there 
was  something  quaint,  and  friendly,  and  pleasant  in  the 
pathos  of  those  English  songs  which  made  them  far  more 
acceptable  to  him  than  Sheila's  wild  and  melancholy  legends 
of  the  sea.  He  sang,  "  Ah,  he  never,  never  touched  thy 
heart  !  "  with  an  outward  expression  of  grief,  but  with 
much  inward  satsf  action.  Was  it  the  artificial  phraseology 
of  the  old  duets  that  awoke  in  him  some  faint  ambition 
after  histrionic  effect  ?  At  all  events,  Sheila  proceeded  to 
another  of  his  favourites — "  All's  Well " — and  here,  amid 
the  brisk  music,  the  old  Highlandman  had  an  excellent 
opportunity  of  striking  in  at  random. 

"  The  careful  watch  patrols  the  deck, 
To  guard  the  ship  from  foes  or  wreck — " 

these  two  lines  he  had  absolutely  mastered,  and  always 
sang  them,  whatever  might  be  the  key  he  happened  to  light 
on,  with  great  vigour.  He  soon  went  the  length  of  impro- 
vising a  part  for  himself  in  the  closing  passages  ;  and  laid 
down  his  pipe  altogether  as  he  sang — 

"What  cheer?    Brother,  quickly  tell! 
Above?    Below?    Good-night!    All,  all's  well !" 

From  that  point,  however,  Sheila  and  her  companion 
Avandered  away  into  fields  of  melody  whither  the  King  of 
Borva  could  not  follow  them  ;  so  he  was  content  to  resume 
his  pipe  and  listen  placidly  to  the  pretty  airs.  He  caught 
but  bits  and  fragments  of  phrases  and  sentiments  ;  but 
they  evidently  were  comfortable,  merry,  good-natured  songs 
for  young  folks  to  sing.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  love- 
making,  and  rosy  morns  appearing,  and  merry  zephyrs,  and 
such  odd  things,  which,  sung  briskly  and  gladly  by  two 
young  and  fresh  voices,  rather  drew  the  hearts  of  contem- 
plative listeners  to  the  musicians. 

"  They  sing  very  well  whatever,"  said  Mackenzie,  with  a 
critical  air,  to  Ingram,  when  the  young  people  were  so 


122  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

busily  engaged  with  tlicir  own  affairs  as  apparently  to  for- 
get the  presence  of  the  others.  "  Oh,  yes,  they  sing  very 
well  whatever  ;  and  what  should  the  young  folks  sing  about- 
but  making  love,  and  courting,  and  all  that  ?  " 

"  Natural  enough,"  said  Ingram,  looking  rather  wistfully 
at  the  two  at  the  other  end  of  the  room.  "  I  suppose  Sheila 
will  have  a  sweetheart  some  day  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  Sheila  will  hef  a  sweetheart  some  day,"  said 
her  father,  good-humouredly.  "  Sheila  is  a  good-looking 
girl ;  she  will  hef  a  sweetheart  some  day." 

"  She  will  marry  too,  I  suppose,"  said  Ingram,  cautiously. 

"  Oh,  yes,  she  will  be  marrying  ;  Sheila  will  be  marrying 
— what  will  be  the  life  of  a  young  girl  if  she  does  not 
marry  ?  " 

At  this  moment,  as  Ingram  afterwards  described  it,  a  sort 
of  "  flash  of  inspiration  "  darted  in  upon  him,  and  he  resolved 
there  and  then  to  brave  the  wrath  of  the  old  king,  and  place 
all  the  conspiracy  before  him,  if  only  the  music  kept  loud 
enough  to  prevent  his  being  overheard. 

"  It  will  be  hard  on  you  to  part  with  Sheila  when  she 
marries,"  said  Ingram,  scarcely  daring  to  look  up. 

"  Oh,  ah,  it  will  be  that,"  said  Mackenzie,  cheerfully 
enough.  "  But  it  is  every  one  will  hef  to  do  that ;  and  no 
great  harm  comes  of  it.  Oh,  no,  it  will  not  be  much  what- 
ever: and  Sheila  she  will  be  very  glad  in  a  little  while  after, 
and  it  will  be  enough  for  me  to  see  that  she  is  ferry  con- 
tented and  happy.  The  young  folk  must  marry,  you  will 
see,  and  what  is  the  use  of  marrying  if  it  is  not  when  they 
are  young  ?  But  Sheila,  she  will  think  of  none  of  these 
things.  It  was  young  Mr.  Maclntyre  of  Sutherland — you 
hef  seen  him  last  year  in  Styornoway — he  hass  ten  thousand 
acres  of  a  deer-forest  in  Sutherland — and  he  will  be  ferry 
glad  to  marry  my  Sheila.  But  I  will  say  to  him,  '  It  is 
not  for  me  to  say  yes  or  no  to  you,  Mr.  Maclntyre  ;  it  is 
Sheila  herself  will  tell  you  that.'  But  he  wass  afraid  to 
speak  to  her  :  and  Sheila  herself  will  know  nothing  of  why 
he  came  twice  to  Borva  the  last  year." 

"  It  is  very  good  of  you  to  leave  Sheila  quite  unbiased  in 
her  choice,"  said  Ingram ;  "  many  fathers  would  have  been 
sorely  tempted  by  that  deer-forest." 

Old  Mackenzie  laughed  a  loud  laugh  of  derision,  that  for- 


"  0  TERQ  UE  Q  UA  TERO,  UE  BE  A  TE!"         1 23 

tunately  did  not  stop  Lavender's  execution  of  "  I  would 
that  my  love  would  silently." 

"  What  the  teffle,"  said  Mackenzie,  "  hef  I  to  want  a 
deer-forest  for  my  Sheila  ?  Sheila  is  no  fisherman's  lass. 
She  has  plenty  for  herself,  and  she  will  marry  just  the 
young  man  she  wants  to  marry,  and  no  other  one — that  is 
what  she  will  do,  by  Kott !  " 

All  this  was  most  hopeful.  If  Mackenzie  had  himself 
been  advocating  Lavender's  suit,  could  he  have  said  more  ? 
But  notwithstanding  all  these  frank  and  generous  promises 
— dealing  with  a  future  which  the  old  Highlander  considered 
as  indefinitely  remote — Ingram  was  still  afraid  of  the 
announcement  he  was  about  to  make. 

"  Sheila  is  fortunately  situated,"  he  said,  "  in  having  a 
father  who  thinks  only  of  her  happiness.  But  I  suppose 
she  has  never  yet  shown  a  preference  for  any  one  ?  " 

"  Not  for  any  one  but  yourself,"  said  her  father,  with  a 
laugh. 

And  Ingram  laughed  too,  but  in  an  embarrassed  way,  and 
his  sallow  face  grew  darker  with  a  blush.  Was  there  not 
something  painful  in  the  unintentional  implication  that  of 
course  Ingram  could  not  be  considered  a  possible  lover  of 
Sheila's,  and  that  the  girl  herself  was  so  well  aware  of  it 
that  she  could  openly  testify  to  her  regard  for  him  ? 

"  And  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  Sheila,"  cont'nued 
her  father,  more  gravely,  "  if  there  wass  any  young  man 
about  the  Lewis  that  she  would  tek  a  liking  to  ;  for  it  will 
be  some  day  I  can  no  more  look  after  her,  and  it  would  be 
bad  for  her  to  be  left  alone  all  by  herself  in  the  island." 

"  And  don't  you  think  you  see  before  youf  now  some  one 
who  might  take  on  him  the  charge  of  Sheila's  future  ?  " 
said  Ingram,  looking  towards  Lavender. 

"  The  English  gentleman  ? "  said  Mackenzie,  with  a 
smile.  "  No  ;  that  any  way  is  not  possible." 

"  I  fancy  it  is  more  than  possible,"  said  Ingram,  resolved 
to  go  straight  at  it.  "I  know  for  a  fact  that  he  would 
like  to  marry  your  daughter,  and  I  think  that  Sheila, 
without  knowing  it  herself  almost,  is  well-inclined  towards 
him." 

The  old  man  started  up  from  his  chair, 

"  Eh  ?  what !  my  Sheila  ?  " 


124  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Yes,  papa,"  said  the  girl,  turning  round  at  once. 

She  caught  sight  of  a  strange  look  on  his  face,  and  in  an 
instant  was  by  his  side. 

"  Papa,  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  " 

"  Nothing,  Sheila,  nothing,"  he  said  impatiently.  "  I  am 
a  little  tired  of  the  music,  that  is  all.  But  go  on  with  the 
music.  Go  back  to  the  piano,  Sheila,  and  go  on  with  the 
music ;  and  Mr.  Ingram  and  me,  we  will  go  outside  for  a 
little  while." 

Mackenzie  walked  out  of  the  room,  and  said,  aloud  in 
the  hall— 

"  Ay,  are  you  coming,  Mr.  Ingram  ?  It  iss  a  fine  night, 
this  night,  and  the  wind  is  in  a  very  good  way  for  the 
weather." 

And  then,  as  he  went  out  to  the  front,  he  hummed  aloud, 
so  that  Sheila  should  hear, — 

"Who  goes  there?    Stranger,  quickly  tell! 
A  friend!     The  word?     Good-night!    All's  well! 
All's  well!    Good-night!    All's  welll" 

Ingram  followed  the  old  man  outside,  with  a  somewhat 
guilty  conscience  suggesting  odd  things  to  him.  Would  it 
not  be  possible,  now,  to  shut  one's  ears  for  the  next  half- 
hour  ?  Angry  words  were  only  little  perturbations  in  the 
air.  If  you  shut  your  ears  till  they  were  all  over,  what 
harm  could  be  done  ?  All  the  big  facts  of  Me  would 
remain  the  same.  The  sea,  the  sky,  the  hills,  the  human 
beings  around  you,  even  your  desire  to  sleep  for  the  night, 
and  your  wholesome  longing  for  breakfast  in  the  morning, 
would  all  remain  ;  and  the  angry  words  would  have  passed 
away.  But  perhaps  it  was  a  proper  punishment  that  he 
should  now  go  out  and  bear  all  the  wrath  of  this  fierce  old 
gentleman,  whose  daughter  he  had  conspired  to  carry  off. 
Mackenzie  was  walking  up  and  down  the  path  outside,  in 
the  cool  and  silent  night.  There  was  not  much  moon  now, 
but  a  clear  and  lambent  twilight  showed  all  the  familiar 
features  of  Loch  Roag  and  the  southern  hills  ;  and  down 
there  in  the  bay  you  could  vaguely  make  out  the  Maiyh- 
dean-mhara  rocking  in  the  tiny  waves  that  washed  in  on 
the  white  shore.  Ingram  had  never  looked  on  this  pretty 
picture  with  a  less  feeling  of  delight. 


"  0  TERQ  UE  Q  UA  TERQ  UE  BE  A  TE  /  "         1 25 

"  Well,  you  see,  Mr.  Mackenzie,"  lie  \vas  beginning,  "  you 
must  make  this  excuse  for  him " 

But  Mackenzie  put  aside  Lavender  at  once.  It  was  all 
about  Sheila  that  he  wanted  to  know.  There  was  no  anger 
in  his  words — only  a  great  anxiety,  and  sometimes  an  extra- 
ordinary and  pathetic  effort  to  take  a  philosophical  view  of 
the  situation.  What  had  Sheila  said  ?  Was  Sheila  deeply 
interested  in  the  young  man  ?  Would  it  please  Sheila  if  he 
was  to  go  indoors  and  give  at  once  his  free  consent  to  her 
marrying  this  Mr.  Lavender  ? 

"  Oh,  you  must  not  think,"  said  Mackenzie,  with  a  certain 
loftiness  of  air  even  amidst  his  great  perturbation  and 
anxiety,  "you  must  not  think  I  hef  not  foreseen  all 
this.  It  wass  some  day  or  other  Sheila  will  be  sure  to 
marry  ;  and  although  I  did  not  expect — no,  I  did  not  expect 
that — that  she  would  marry  a  stranger  and  an  Englishman, 
if  it  will  please  her,  that  is  enough.  You  cannot  tell  a 
young  lass  the  one  she  should  marry — it  is  all  a  chance  the 
one  she  likes,  and  if  she  does  not  marry  him,  it  is  better 
she  will  not  marry  at  all.  Oh,  yes,  I  know  that  ferry  well. 
And  I  hef  known  there  wass  a  time  coming  when  I  would 
give  away  my  Sheila  to  some  young  man  ;  and  there  iss  no 
use  complaining  of  it.  But  you  hef  not  told  me  much  about 
this  young  man — or  I  hef  forgotten — it  is  the  same  thing 
whatever.  He  has  not  much  money,  you  said — he  is 
waiting  for  some  money, — well — this  is  what  I  will  do.  / 
will  (jive  him  all  my  money  if  he  will  come  and  live  in  the 
Lewis."" 

All  the  philosophy  he  had  been  mustering  up  fell  away 
from  that  last  sentence.  It  was  like  the  cry  of  a  drowning 
man  who  sees  the  last  lifeboat  set  out  for  shore,  leaving 
him  to  his  fate.  And  Ingram  had  not  a  word  to  say  in 
reply  to  that  piteous  entreaty. 

"  I  do  not  ask  him  to  stop  in  Borva — no,  it  iss  a  small 
place  for  one  that  hass  lived  in  a  town.  But  the  Lewis, 
that  is  quite  different ;  and  there  iss  ferry  good  houses  in 
Stornoway " 

"  But  surely,  sir,"  said  Ingram,  "  you  need  not  consider 
all  this  just  yet.  I  am  sure  neither  of  them  has  thought  of 
any  such  thing " 

"  Xo,"  said  Mackenzie,  recovering  himself, "  perhaps  not. 


126  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

But  we  kef  our  duties  to  look  at  the  future  of  youiig  tolks. 
And  you  will  say  that  Mr.  Lavender  hass  only  expectations 
of  money  ?  " 

"  "Well,  the  expectation  is  almost  a  certainty.  His  aunt, 
I  have  told  you,  is  a  very  rich  old  lady,  who  has  no  other 
near  relations  ;  and  she  is  exceedingly  fond  of  him,  and 
would  do  anything  for  him.  I  am  sure  the  allowance  he 
has  now  is  greatly  in  excess  of  what  she  spends  on  herself." 

"  But  they  might  quarrel,  you  know — they  might 
quarrel.  You  hef  always  to  look  to  the  future — they  might 
quarrel,  and  what  will  he  do  then  ?  " 

"  Why,  you  don't  suppose  he  couldn't  support  himself,  if 
the  worst  were  to  come  to  the  worst.  He  is  an  amazingly 
clever  fellow — 

"  Ay,  that  is  very  good,"  said  Mackenzie,  in  a  cautious 
sort  of  way  ;  "  but  has  he  ever  made  any  money  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  fancy  not — nothing  to  speak  of.  He  has  sold 
some  pictures  ;  but  I  think  he  has  given  more  away." 

"  Then  it  iss  not  easy,  tek  my  word  for  it,  Mr.  Ingram, 
to  begin  a  new  trade  if  you  are  twenty-five  years  of  age  ; 
and  the  people  who  will  tek  your  pictures  for  nothing,  will 
they  pay  for  them  if  you  wanted  the  money  ?  " 

It  was  obviously  Mr.  Mackenzie's  eager  wish  to  prove  to 
himself  that,  somehow  or  other,  Lavender  might  come  to 
have  no  money,  and  be  made  dependent  on  his  father-in-law. 
So  far,  indeed,  from  sharing  the  sentiments  ordinarily 
attributed  to  that  important  relative,  he  would  have 
welcomed  with  a  heart-felt  joy  the  information  that  the 
man  who,  as  he  expected,  was  about  to  marry  his  daughter, 
was  absolutely  penniless.  Not  even  all  the  attractions  of 
that  deer-forest  in  Sutherlandshire — particularly  fascinating 
as  they  must  have  been  to  a  man  of  his  education  and 
surroundings — had  been  able  to  lead  the  old  King  of  Borva 
even  into  hinting  to  his  daughter  that  the  owner  of  that 
property  would  like  to  marry  her.  Sheila  was  to  choose  for 
herself.  She  was  not  like  a  fisherman's  lass,  bound  to  con- 
sider ways  and  means.  And  now  that  she  had  chosen,  or, 
at  least,  indicated  the  possibility  of  her  doing  so,  her  father's 
chief  desire  was  that  his  future  son-in-law  should  come  and 
take  and  enjoy  his  money,  so  only  that  Sheila  might  not  be 
carried  away  from  him  for  ever. 


"  0  TERQ  UE  Q  UA  TERQ,  UE  BE  A  TE  !*         \Vj 

""Well,  I  will  see  about  it,"  said  Mackenzie,  with  an 
affectation  of  cheerful  and  practical  shrewdness.  "  Oh,  yes, 
I  will  see  about  it,  when  Sheila  has  made  up  her  mind.  He 
is  a  very  good  young  man,  whatever — 

"He  is  the  best-hearted  fellow  I  know,"  said  Ingram, 
warmly.  "  I  don't  think  !Sheila  has  much  to  fear  if  she 
marries  him.  If  you  had  known  him  as  long  as  I  have, 
you  would  know  how  considerate  he  is  to  everybody  about 
him,  how  generous  he  is,  how  good-natured,  and  cheerful, 
and  so  forth — in  short,  he  is  a  thorough  good  feUow,  that's 
what  I  have  to  say  about  him." 

"  It  iss  well  for  him  he  will  hef  such  a  champion,"  said 
Mackenzie,  with  a  smile  ;  "  there  iss  not  many  Sheila  will 
pay  attention  to  as  she  does  to  you." 

They  went  indoors  again — Ingram  scarcely  knowing  how 
he  had  got  so  easily  through  the  ordeal,  but  very  glad  it 
was  over.  Sheila  was  still  at  the  piano,  and,  on  their 
entering,  she  said — 

"  Papa,  here  is  a  song  you  must  learn  to  sing  with  me." 

"  And  what  iss  it,  Sheila  ?  "  he  said,  going  over  to  her. 

"  '  Tune  has  not  thinned  thy  flowing  hair.'  " 

He  put  his  hand  on  her  head,  and  said — • 

"  I  hope  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  he  will  thin  your 
hair,  Sheila." 

The  girl  looked  up,  surprised.  Scotch  folks  are,  as  a  rule, 
somewhat  reticent  in  their  display  of  affection  ;  and  it  was 
not  often  that  her  father  talked  to  her  in  that  way.  What 
was  there  in  his  face  that  made  her  glance  instinctively 
towards  Ingram  ?  Somehow  or  other  her  hand  sought  her 
father's  hand,  and  she  rose  and  went  away  from  the  piano,  with 
her  head  bent  down  and  tears  beginning  to  tell  in  her  eyes. 

"  Yes,  that  is  a  capital  song,"  said  Ingram,  loudly.  "  Sing 
'  The  Arethusa,'  Lavender.  '  Said  the  saucy  Arethusa.1 " 

Lavender,  knowing  what  had  taken  place,  and  not  daring 
to  follow  with  his  eyes  Sheila  and  her  father,  who  had  gone 
to  the  other  end  of  the  room,  sang  the  song.  Never  was  a 
gallant  and  devil-may-care  sea-song  sung  so  hopelessly 
without  spirit.  But  the  piano  made  a  noise  ;  and  the  verses 
took  up  time.  When  he  had  finished,  he  almost  feared  to 
turn  round  ;  and  yet  there  was  nothing  dreadful  in  the 
picture  that  presented  itself.  Sheila  was  sitting  on  her 


128  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

father's  knee,  with  her  head  buried  in  his  bosom,  while  he 
was  patting  her  head,  and  talking  in  a  low  voice  to  her. 
The  King  of  Borva  did  not  look  particularly  fierce. 

"  Yes,  it  iss  a  teffle  of  a  good  song,"  he  said,  suddenly. 
"  Now  get  up,  Sheila,  and  go  and  tell  Mairi  we  will  have  a 
bit  of  bread  and  cheese  before  going  to  bed.  And  there 
will  be  a  little  hot  water  wanted  in  the  other  room,  for  this 
room  it  iss  too  full  of  the  smoke." 

Sheila,  as  she  went  out  of  the  room,  had  her  head  cast 
down,  and  perhaps  an  extra  tinge  of  colour  in  the  young 
and  sweet  face.  But  surely,  Lavender  thought  to  himself, 
as  he  watched  her  anxiously,  she  did  not  look  grieved.  As 
for  her  father,  what  should  he  do  now  ?  Turn  suddenly 
round,  and  beg  Mackenzie's  pardon,  and  throw  himself  on 
his  generosity  ?  "When  he  did,  with  much  inward  trembling, 
venture  to  approach  the  old  man,  he  found  no  such  explana- 
tion possible.  The  King  of  Borva  was  in  one  of  his 
grandest  moods — dignified,  courteous,  cautious,  and  yet 
inclined  to  treat  everybody  and  everything  with  a  sort  of 
lofty  good  humour.  He  spoke  to  Lavender  in  the  most 
friendly  way  ;  but  it  was  about  the  singular  and  startling 
fact  that  modern  research  had  proved  many  of  the  Eoman 
legends  to  be  utterly  untrustworthy.  Mr.  Mackenzie 
observed  that  the  man  was  wanting  in  proper  courage  who 
feared  to  accept  the  results  of  such  inquiries.  It  was  better 
that  we  should  know  the  truth,  and  then  the  kings  who  had 
really  made  Rome  great  might  emerge  from  the  fog  of 
tradition  in  their  proper  shape.  There  was  something  quite 
sympathetic  in  the  way  he  talked  of  those  ill-treated 
sovereigns,  whom  the  vulgar  mind  had  clothed  in  mist. 

Lavender  was  sorely  beset  by  the  rival  claims  of  Rome 
and  Borva  upon  his  attention.  He  was  inwardly  inclined  to 
curse  Numa  Pompilius — which  would  have  been  ineffectual — 
when  he  found  that  personage  interfering  with  a  wild  effort 
to  discover  why  Mackenzie  should  treat  him  in  this  way. 
And  then  it  occurred  to  him  that,  as  he  had  never  said  a 
word  to  Mackenzie  about  this  affair,  it  was  too  much  to 
expect  that  Sheila's  father  should  himself  open  the  subject. 
On  the  contrary  Mackenzie  was  bent  on  extending  a  grave 
courtesy  to  his  guest,  so  that  the  latter  should  not  feel  ill  at 
ease  until  it  suited  himself  to  make  any  explanations  he 


"  0  TERQUE  QUATERQUE  BE  ATE!"         129 

might  choose.  It  was  not  Mackenzie's  business  to  ask  this 
young  man  if  he  wanted  to  marry  Sheila.  No.  The  king's 
daughter,  if  she  were  to  be  won  at  all,  was  to  be  won  by  a 
suitor  ;  and  it  was  not  for  her  father  to  be  in  a  hurry  about 
it.  So  Lavender  got  back  into  the  region  of  early  Roman 
history,  and  tried  to  recall  what  he  had  learned  in  Livy, 
and  quite  coincided  with  everything  that  Niebuhr  had  said 
or  proved  ;  and  with  everything  that  Mackenzie  thought 
Niebuhr  had  said  or  proved.  He  was  only  too  glad,  indeed, 
to  find  himself  talking  to  Sheila's  father  in  this  friendly 
fashion. 

Then  Sheila  came  in  and  told  them  that  supper  was  laid 
in  the  adjoining  room.  At  that  modest  meal,  a  great  good- 
humour  prevailed.  Sometimes,  it  is  true,  it  occurred  to 
Ingram  that  Sheila  cast  an  anxious  glance  at  her  father,  as 
if  she  were  trying  to  discover  whether  he  was  really  satisfied, 
or  whether  he  was  not  merely  pretending  satisfaction  to 
please  her  ;  but  for  the  rest  the  party  was  a  most  friendly 
and  merry  one.  Lavender,  naturally  enough,  was  in  the 
highest  of  spirits ;  and  nothing  could  exceed  the  light- 
hearted  endeavours  he  made  to  amuse,  and  interest,  and 
cheer  his  companions.  Sheila,  indeed,  sat  up  later  than 
usual,  even  although  pipes  were  lit  again,  and  the  slate-grey 
silk  likely  to  bear  witness  to  the  fact  in  the  morning.  How 
comfortable  and  homely  was  this  sort  of  life  in  the  remote 
stone  building  overlooking  the  northern  sea  I  He  began  to 
think  that  he  could  live  always  in  Borva,  if  only  Sheila  were 
with  him  as  his  companion. 

Was  it  an  actual  fact,  then,  he  asked  himself  next 
morning,  that  he  stood  confessed  to  the  small  world  of 
Borva  as  Sheila's  accepted  lover  ?  Not  a  word  on  the 
subject  had  passed  between  Mackenzie  and  himself  ;  yet  he 
found  himself  assuming  the  position  of  a  younger  relative, 
and  rather  expecting  advice  from  the  old  Highlander.  He 
began  to  take  a  great  interest,  too,  in  the  local  administration 
of  the  island  ;  he  examined  the  window-fastenings  of 
Mackenzie's  house  and  saw  that  they  would  be  useful  in  the 
winter ;  and  expressed  to  Sheila's  father  his  confidential 
opinion  that  the  girl  should  not  be  allowed  to  go  out  in  the 
Haighdean-mhara  without  Duncan. 

"  She  will  know  as  much  about  boats  as  Duncan  himself," 

K 


130  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

said  her  father,  with  a  confident  smile.  "  But  Sheila  will 
not  go  out  when  the  rough  weather  begins." 

"  Of  course  you  keep  her  indoors  then  ?  "  said  the  younger 
man,  already  assuming  some  little  charge  over  Sheila's 
comfort. 

The  father  laughed  aloud  at  this  simplicity  on  the  part  of 
the  Englishman. 

"  If  we  wass  to  keep  indoors  in  the  bad  weather,  it  would 
be  all  the  winter  we  would  be  indoors  !  There  iss  no  day 
at  all  Sheila  will  not  be  out  some  time  or  other  ;  and  she  is 
never  so  well  as  in  the  hard  weather,  when  she  will  be  out 
always  in  the  snow,  and  the  frost,  and  hef  plenty  of  exercise 
and  amusement." 

"  She  is  not  often  ailing,  I  suppose  ?  "  said  Lavender. 

"  She  is  as  strong  as  a  young  pony,  that  is  what  Sheila 
is,"  said  her  father,  proudly.  "  And  there  is  no  one  in  the 
island  will  run  so  fast,  or  walk  as  long  without  tiring,  or 
carry  things  from  the  shore  as  she  will,  not  one." 

But  here  he  suddenly  checked  himself. 

"  That  is,"  he  said,  with  some  little  expression  of  annoy- 
ance, "  I  wass  saying  Sheila  could  do  that  if  it  wass  any  use  ; 
but  she  will  not  do  such  things,  like  a  fisherman's  lass  that 
hass  to  help  in  the  work." 

"  Oh,  of  course  not,"  said  Lavender,  hastily. 

"But  still,  you  know,  it  is  pleasant  to  know  she  is  so 
strong  and  well." 

And  at  this  moment  Sheila  herself  appeared,  accompanied 
by  her  great  deer-hound,  and  testifying  by  the  bright  colour 
in  her  face  to  the  assurances  of  her  health  her  father  had 
been  giving.  She  had  just  come  up  and  over  the  hill  from 
Borvabost,  while  as  yet  breakfast  had  not  been  served. 
Somehow  or  other  Lavender  fancied  she  never  looked  so 
bright,  and  fearless,  and  handsome  as  in  the  early  morning, 
with  the  fresh  sea-air  tingling  the  colour  in  her  cheeks,  and 
the  sunlight  shining  in  the  clear  eyes  or  touching  from  time 
to  time  a  glimpse  of  her  perfect  teeth.  But  this  morning 
she  did  not  seem  quite  so  frankly  merry  as  usual.  She 
patted  the  deer-hound's  head,  and  rather  kept  her  eyes  away 
from  her  father  and  his  companion.  And  then  she  took 
Bras  away  to  give  him  his  breakfast  just  as  Ingram  appeared 
to  bid  her  good  morning,  and  ask  her  what  she  meant  by 
being  about  so  early. 


«  0  TERQ  UE  Q  UA  TERQ  UE  BE  A  TE!»         131 

How  anxiously  Lavender  now  began  to  calculate  on  the 
remaining  days  of  their  stay  in  Borva  !  They  seemed  so 
few.  He  got  up  at  preposterously  early  hours  to  make  each 
day  as  long  as  possible ;  but  it  slipped  away  with  a  fatal 
speed ;  and  already  he  began  to  think  of  Stornoway,  and 
the  Clansman,  and  his  bidding  good-bye  to  Sheila.  He  had 
said  no  more  to  her  of  any  pledge  as  regarded  the  future. 
He  was  content  to  see  that  she  was  pleased  to  be  with  him  ; 
and  happy  indeed  were  their  rambles  about  the  island,  their 
excursions  in  Sheila's  boat,  their  visits  to  the  White  Water 
in  search  of  salmon.  Nor  had  he  yet  spoken  to  Sheila's 
father.  He  knew  that  Mackenzie  knew  ;  and  both  seemed 
to  take  it  for  granted  that  no  good  could  come  of  a  formal 
explanation  until  Sheila  herself  should  make  her  wishes 
known.  That,  indeed,  was  the  only  aspect  of  the  case  that 
apparently  presented  itself  to  the  old  King  of  Borva.  He 
forgot  altogether  those  precautions  and  investigations  which 
are  supposed  to  occupy  the  mind  of  a  future  father-in-law  ; 
and  only  sought  to  see  how  Sheila  was  affected  towards  the 
young  man  who  was  soon  about  to  leave  the  island.  WThen 
he  saw  her  pleased  to  be  walking  with  Lavender,  and  talking 
with  him  of  an  evening,  he  was  pleased  ;  and  would  rather 
have  a  cold  dinner  than  break  in  upon  them  to  hurry  them 
home.  When  he  saw  her  disappointed  because  Lavender 
had  been  unfortunate  in  his  salmon-fishing,  he  was  ready  to 
swear  at  Duncan  for  not  having  had  the  fish  in  a  better 
temper.  And  the  most  of  his  conversation  with  Ingram 
consisted  of  an  endeavour  to  convince  himself  that,  after  all, 
what  had  happened  was  for  the  best,  and  that  Sheila  seemed 
to  be  happy. 

But  somehow  or  other,  when  the  time  for  their  departure 
was  drawing  near,  Mackenzie  showed  a  strange  desire  that 
his  guests  should  spend  the  last  two  days  in  Stornoway. 
When  Lavender  first  heard  this  proposal,  he  glanced  towards 
Sheila,  and  his  face  showed  clearly  his  disappointment. 

"  But  Sheila  will  go  with  us,  too,"  said  her  father,  reply- 
ing to  that  unuttered  protest  in  the  most  innocent  fashion  ; 
and  then  Lavender's  face  brightened  again,  and  he  said  that 
nothing  would  give  him  greater  pleasure  than  to  spend  two 
days  in  Stornoway. 

"  And  you  must  not  think,"  said  Mackenzie,  anxiously, 

K   2 


132  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  that  it  is  one  day  or  two  days,  or  a  great  many  days,  will 
show  you  all  the  fine  things  about  Stornoway.  And  if  you 
were  to  live  in  Stornoway,  you  would  find  very  good  acquain- 
tances and  friends  there  ;  and  in  the  autumn,  when  the  shoot- 
ing begins,  there  are  many  English  who  will  come  up,  and 
there  will  be  ferry  great  doings  at  the  castle.  And  there  is 
some  gentlemen  now  at  Grimersta  whom  you  hef  not  seen, 
and  they  are  ferry  fine  gentlemen ;  and  at  Garra-na-hina 
there  iss  two  more  gentlemen  for  the  salmon-fishing.  Oh, 
there  iss  a  great  many  fine  people  in  the  Lewis,  and  it  iss 
not  all  as  lonely  as  Borva." 

"  If  it  is  half  as  pleasant  a  place  to  live  in  as  Borva,  it  will 
do,"  said  Lavender,  with  a  flush  of  enthusiasm  in  his  face, 
as  he  looked  towards  Sheila,  and  saw  her  pleased  and  down- 
cast eyes. 

"  But  it  iss  not  to  be  compared,"  said  Mackenzie,  eagerly. 
"  Borva — that  iss  nothing  at  all ;  but  the  Lewis — it  iss  a 
ferry  different  thing  to  live  in  the  Lewis,  and  many  English 
gentlemen  hef  told  me  they  would  like  to  live  always  in  the 
Lewis." 

"  I  think  I  should,  too,"  said  Lavender,  lightly  and  care- 
lessly, little  thinking  what  importance  the  old  man  immedi- 
ately and  gladly  put  upon  the  admission. 

From  that  moment  Lavender,  although  unconscious  of 
what  had  happened,  had  nothing  to  fear  in  the  way  of  oppo- 
sition from  Sheila's  father.  If  he  had  there  and  then  boldly 
asked  Mackenzie  for  his  daughter,  the  old  man  would  have 
given  his  consent  freely,  and  bade  Lavender  go  to  Sheila 
herself. 

And  so  they  set  sail,  one  pleasant  morning,  from  Borva- 
bost ;  and  the  light  wind  that  ruffled  the  blue  of  Loch  Eoag 
gently  filled  the  mainsail  of  the  Maiglidean-mhara  as  she  ran 
down  the  tortuous  channel. 

"  I  don't  like  to  go  away  from  Borva,"  said  Lavender,  in  a 
low  voice,  to  Sheila,  "  but  I  might  have  been  leaving  the  island 
with  greater  regret ;  for,  you  know,  I  expect  to  be  back  soon." 

"  We  shall  always  be  glad  to  see  you,"  said  the  girl ;  and, 
although  he  would  rather  have  had  her  say  "  I "  than  "  we," 
there  was  something  in  the  tone  of  her  voice  that  contented 
him. 

At  Garra-na-hina,  Mackenzie  pointed  out  with  a  great 


"  0  TERQ  UE  Q  UA  TERQ  UE  BE  A  TE!»         133 

interest  to  Lavender  a  tall  man  who  was  going  down  through 
some  meadows  to  the  Amhuinn  Dhubh,  the  Black  River. 
He  had  a  long  rod  over  his  shoulder ;  and  behind  him,  at 
some  distance,  followed  a  shorter  man,  who  carried  a  gaff 
and  landing-net.  Mackenzie  anxiously  explained  to  Lavender 
that  the  tall  figure  was  that  of  an  Englishman.  Lavender 
accepted  the  statement.  But  would  he  not  go  down  to  the 
river  and  make  his  acquaintance  ?  Lavender  could  not 
understand  why  he  should  be  expected  to  take  so  great  an 
interest  in  an  ordinary  English  sportsman. 

"  Ferry  well,"  said  Mackenzie,  a  trifle  disappointed  ;  "  but 
you  would  find  several  of  the  English  in  the  Lewis  if  you 
wass  living  here." 

These  last  two  days  in  Stornoway  were  very  pleasant.  On 
their  previous  visit  to  the  town,  Mackenzie  had  given  up 
much  of  his  time  to  business  affairs,  and  was  a  good  deal 
away  from  his  guests  ;  but  now  he  devoted  himself  to  making 
them  particularly  comfortable  in  the  place  and  amusing 
them  in  every  possible  way.  He  introduced  Lavender,  in 
especial,  to  all  his  friends  there,  and  was  most  anxious  to 
impress  on  the  young  man  that  life  in  Stornoway  was,  on  the 
whole,  rather  a  brilliant  affair.  Then,  was  there  a  finer 
point  from  which  you  could  start  at  will  for  Inverness,  Oban, 
and  such  great  centres  of  civilization  ?  Very  soon  there 
might  even  be  a  telegraphic  cable  laid  to  the  mainland.  Was 
Mr.  Lavender  aware  that  frequently  you  could  see  the  Suther- 
landshire  hills  from  this  very  town  of  Stornoway  ? 

Here  Sheila  laughed ;  and  Lavender,  who  kept  watching 
her  face  always,  to  read  all  her  fancies  and  sentiments  and 
wishes  in  the  shifting  lights  of  it,  immediately  demanded  an 
explanation. 

"  It  is  no  good  thing,"  said  Sheila,  "  to  see  the  Sutherland 
hills  often  ;  for  when  you  see  them,  it  means  to  rain." 

But  Lavender  had  not  been  taught  to  fear  the  rain  of  the 
Western  Isles.  The  very  weather  seemed  to  have  conspired 
with  Mackenzie  to  charm  the  young  man  with  the  island. 
At  this  moment,  for  example,  they  were  driving  away  from 
Stornoway  along  the  side  of  the  great  bay  that  stretches 
northward  until  it  finds  its  furthest  promontory  in  Tiumpan 
Head.  What  magnificence  of  colour  shone  all  around  them 
in  the  hot  sunlight  1  Where  the  ruffled  blue  sea  came  near 


134  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

the  long  sweep  of  yellow  sand  it  grew  to  be  a  bright,  trans- 
parent green.  The  splendid  curve  of  the  bay  showed  a 
gleaming  line  of  white  where  the  waves  broke  in  masses  of 
hissing  foam  ;  and  beyond  that  curve  again  long  headlands 
of  dark-red  conglomerate  ran  out  into  the  azure  waters  of 
the  sea,  with  their  summits  shining  with  the  bright  sea-grass. 
Here,  close  at  hand,  were  warm  meadows  with  calves  and 
lambs  cropping  the  sweet-scented  Dutch  clover.  A  few  huts, 
shaped  like  bee-hives,  stood  by  the  road-side,  close  by  some 
deep  brown  peats.  There  was  a  cutting  in  the  yellow  sand 
of  the  bay  for  the  pulling  up  of  captured  whales.  Now  and 
again  you  could  see  a  solan  dart  down  from  the  blue  heavens 
into  the  darker  blue  of  the  sea,  sending  up  a  spurt  of  foam 
twenty  feet  high  as  he  disappeared  ;  and  far  out  there,  be- 
tween the  red  precipices  and  the  ruffled  waters  beneath, 
white  sea-fowl  flew  from  crag  to  crag  or  dropped  down  to 
fold  their  wings  and  rise  and  fall  on  the  waves. 

At  the  small  hamlet  of  G-ress  they  got  a  large  rowing-boat 
manned  by  sturdy  fishermen,  and  set  out  to  explore  the  great 
caves  formed  in  the  mighty  wall  of  conglomerate  that  here 
fronts  the  sea.  The  wild-fowl  flew  about  them,  screaming 
and  yelling  at  being  disturbed.  The  long  swell  of  the  waves 
lifted  the  boat,  passed  from  under  it,  and  went  on  with 
majestic  force  to  crash  on  the  glowing  red  crags  and  send 
jets  of  foam  flying  up  the  face  of  them.  They  captured  one 
of  the  sea-birds — a  young  thing  about  as  big  as  a  hen,  with 
staring  eyes,  scant  feathers,  and  a  long  beak  with  which  it 
instinctively  tried  to  bite  its  enemies — and  the  parents  of  it 
kept  swooping  down  over  the  boat,  uttering  shrill  cries,  until 
their  offspring  was  restored  to  the  surface  of  the  water. 
They  went  into  the  great  loud-sounding  caverns,  getting  a 
new  impression  of  the  extraordinary  clearness  of  the  sea- 
water  by  the  depth  at  which  the  bottom  was  visible  ;  and 
here  their  shouts  occasionally  called  up  from  some  dim  twi- 
light recess — far  in  among  the  perilous  rocks — the  head  of 
a  young  seal,  which  would  instantly  dive  again  and  be  seen 
no  more.  They  watched  the  salmon  splash  in  the  shallower 
creeks  where  the  sea  had  scooped  out  a  tiny  bay  of  ruddy 
sand ;  and  then  a  slowly-rolling  porpoise  would  show  his 
black  back  above  the  water  and  silently  disappear  again. 
All  this  was  pleasant  enough  on  a  pleasant  morning,  in  fresh 


'•  0  TERQ  UE  Q  UA  TERQ  UE  BE  A  TEf"         133 

sea-air  and  sunlight,  in  holiday-time ;  and  was  there  any 
reason,  Mackenzie  may  fairly  have  thought,  why  this  young 
man,  if  he  did  marry  Sheila,  should  not  come  and  live  in  a 
place  where  so  much  healthy  amusement  was  to  be  found  ? 

And  in  the  evening,  too,  when  they  had  climbed  to  the 
top  of  the  hills  on  the  south  of  Stornoway  harbour,  did  not 
the  little  town  look  sufficiently  picturesque,  with  its  white 
houses,  its  shipping,  its  great  castle  and  plantations  lying  in 
shadow  under  the  green  of  the  eastern  sky  ?  Then,  away 
to  the  west,  what  a  strange  picture  presented  itself  !  Thick 
bands  of  grey  cloud  lay  across  the  heavens,  and  the  sunlight 
from  behind  them  sent  down  great  rays  of  misty  yellow  on 
the  endless  miles  of  moor.  But  how  was  it  that,  as  these 
shafts  of  sunlight  struck  on  the  far  and  successive  ridges 
of  the  moorland,  each  long  undulation  seemed  to  become 
transparent ;  and  aU  the  island  appeared  to  consist  of  great 
and  golden-brown  shells,  heaped  up  behind  each  other,  with 
the  sunlight  shining  through  ? 

"  I  have  tried  a  good  many  new  effects  since  I  came  up 
here,"  said  Lavender,  " but  I  shall  not  try  that" 

"  Oh,  it  iss  nothing — it  iss  nothing  at  all,"  said  Mackenzie, 
with  a  studied  air  of  unconcern.  "  There  iss  much  more 
beautiful  things  than  that  in  the  island,  but  you  will  hef 
need  of  a  ferry  long  time  before  you  will  find  it  all  out. 
That — that  iss  nothing  at  all." 

"  You  will  perhaps  make  a  picture  of  it  some  other  time," 
said  Sheila,  with  her  eyes  cast  down  ;  and,  as  he  was  standing 
by  her  at  the  time,  he  took  her  hand,  and  pressed  it,  and 
said,  "  I  hope  so." 

Then,  that  night  1  Did  not  every  hour  produce  some  new 
and  wonderful  scene  ;  or  was  it  only  that  each  minute  grew 
to  be  so  precious,  and  that  the  enchantment  of  Sheila's 
presence  filled  the  air  around  him  ?  There  was  no  moon  ; 
but  the  stars  shone  over  the  bay,  and  the  harbour,  and  the 
dusky  hills  beyond  the  castle.  Every  few  seconds  the  light- 
house at  Arnish  Point  sent  out  its  wild  glare  of  orange  fire 
into  the  heart  of  the  clear  darkness,  and  then  as  suddenly 
faded  out  and  left  the  eyes  too  bewildered  to  make  out  the 
configuration  of  the  rocks.  All  over  the  north-west  there 
still  remained  the  pale  glow  of  the  twilight ;  and  somehow 
Lavender  seemed  to  think  that  that  strange  glow  belonged 


136  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

to  Sheila's  home  in  the  west,  and  that  the  people  in  Stornoway 
knew  nothing  of  the  wonders  of  Loch  Eoag,  and  of  the 
strange  nights  there.  Was  he  likely  ever  to  forget  ? 

"  Good-bye,  Sheila,"  he  said,  next  morning,  when  the  last 
signal  had  been  given,  and  the  Clansman  was  about  to  move 
from  her  moorings. 

She  had  bidden  good-bye  to  Ingram  already,  but,  somehow, 
she  could  not  speak  to  his  companion  just  at  this  last  moment. 
She  pressed  his  hand,  and  turned  away,  and  went  ashore  with 
her  father.  Then  the  big  steamer  throbbed  its  way  out  of 
the  harbour  ;  and  by  and  by  the  island  of  Lewis  lay  but  as  a 
thin  blue  cloud  along  the  horizon  ;  and  who  could  tell  that 
human  beings,  with  strange  hopes,  and  fancies,  and  griefs, 
were  hidden  away  in  that  pale  line  of  vapour  ? 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"  FABEWELL,  MACKEIMMON  !  " 

A  NIGHT  journey  from  Greenock  to  London  is  a  sufficiently 
prosaic  affair  in  ordinary  circumstances  ;  but  it  need  not  be 
always  so.  What  if  a  young  man,  apparently  occupied  in 
making  himself  comfortable,  and  in  talking  nonsense  to  his 
friend  and  companion,  should  be  secretly  calculating  how 
the  journey  could  be  rendered  most  pleasant  to  a  bride,  and 
that  bride  his  bride  ?  Lavender  made  experiments  with 
regard  to  the  ways  and  tempers  of  guards — he  borrowed 
planks  of  wood  with  which  to  make  sleeping-couches  of  an 
ordinary  first-class  carriage — he  bribed  a  certain  official  to 
have  the  compartment  secured — he  took  note  of  the  time 
when,  and  the  place  where,  refreshments  could  be  procured 
• — all  these  things  he  did,  thinking  of  Sheila.  And  when 
Ingram,  sometimes  surprised  by  his  good-nature,  and  occa- 
sionally remonstrating  against  his  extravagance,  at  last  fell 
asleep  on  the  more  or  less  comfortable  cushions  stretched 
across  the  planks,  Lavender  would  have  him  wake  up  again, 
that  he  might  be  induced  to  talk  once  more  about  Sheila. 
Ingram  would  make  use  of  some  wicked  words,  rub  his  eyes, 
ask  what  was  the  last  station  they  had  passed,  and  then 
begin  to  preach  to  Lavender  about  the  great  obligations  he 


"FAREV/ELL,  MACKRIMMON '"  137 

was  under  to  Sheila,  and  what  would  be  expected  of  him  in 
after-times. 

"  You  are  coming  away  just  now,"  he  would  say,  while 
Lavender,  who  could  not  sleep  at  all,  was  only  anxious  that 
Sheila's  name  should  be  mentioned,  "  enriched  with  a  greater 
treasure  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  most  men.  If  you  know  how 
to  value  that  treasure,  there  is  not  a  king  or  emperor  in 
Europe  who  should  not  envy  you." 

"  But  don't  you  think  I  value  it  ?  "  the  other  would  say, 
anxiously. 

"  We'll  see  about  that  afterwards,  by  what  you  do.  But 
in  the  meantime  you  don't  know  what  you  have  won.  You 
don't  know  the  magnificent  single-heartedness  of  that  girl, 
her  keen  sense  of  honour,  nor  the  strength  of  character,  of 
judgment,  and  decision  that  lies  beneath  her  apparent 

simplicity.  Why,  I  have  known  Sheila  now But 

what's  the  use  of  talking  ?  " 

"  I  wish  you  would  talk,  though,  Ingram,"  said  his  com- 
panion, quite  submissively.  "  You  have  known  her  longer 
than  I.  I  am  willing  to  believe  all  you  say  of  her,  and 
anxious,  indeed,  to  know  as  much  about  her  as  possible.  You 
don't  suppose  I  fancy  she  is  anything  less  than  you  say  ?  " 

"Well,"  said  Ingram,  doubtfully,  "perhaps  not.  The 
worst  of  it  is  that  you  take  such  odd  readings  of  people. 
However,  when  you  marry  her,  as  I  now  hope  you  may,  you 
will  soon  find  out ;  and  then,  if  you  are  not  grateful — if  you 
don't  understand  and  appreciate  then  the  fine  qualities  of 
this  girl,  the  sooner  you  put  a  millstone  round  your  neck 
and  drop  over  Chelsea  Bridge  the  better." 

"  She  will  always  have  in  you  a  good  friend  to  look  after 
her  when  she  comes  to  London." 

"  Oh,  don't  imagine  I  mean  to  thrust  myself  in  at  your 
breakfast-table  to  give  you  advice.  If  a  husband  and  wife 
cannot  manage  their  own  affairs  satisfactorily,  no  third 
person  can ;  and  I  am  getting  to  be  an  elderly  man,  who 
likes  peace,  and  comfort,  and  his  own  quiet." 

"  I  wish  you  wouldn't  talk  such  nonsense,"  said  Lavender, 
impetuously.  "You  know  you  are  bound  to  marry — and 
the  woman  you  ask  to  marry  you  will  be  a  precious  fool  if 
she  refuses.  I  don't  know,  indeed,  how  you  and  Sheila  ever 
escaped " 


138  A  PRINCESS  OF  THUL& 

"  Look  here,  Lavender,"  said  his  companion,  speaking  in 
a  somewhat  impatient  way,  "  if  you  marry  Sheila  Mackenzie, 
I  suppose  I  may  see  something  of  both  of  you  from  time  to 
time.  But  you  are  naturally  jealous  and  exacting,  as  is  the 
way  with  many  good  fellows  who  have  had  too  much  of 
their  own  way  in  the  world  ;  and  if  you  start  off  with  the 
notion  now  that  Sheila  and  I  might  ever  have  married,  or 
that  such  a  thing  was  ever  thought  of  by  either  of  us,  the 
certain  consequence  will  be  that  you  will  become  jealous  of 
me,  and  that,  in  time,  I  shall  have  to  stop  seeing  either  of 
you,  if  you  happen  to  be  living  in  London." 

"And  if  ever  the  time  comes,"  said  Lavender,  lightly, 
"  when  I  prove  myself  such  a  fool,  I  hope  I  shall  remember 
that  a  millstone  can  be  bought  in  Victoria-road,  and  that 
Chelsea  Bridge  is  handy." 

"  All  right :  I'm  going  to  sleep." 

For  some  time  after  Ingram  was  permitted  to  rest  in  peace  ; 
and  it  was  not  until  they  had  reached  some  big  station  or 
other,  towards  morning,  that  he  woke.  Lavender  had  never 
closed  his  eyes. 

'  Haven't  you  been  asleep  ?  " 

'No." 

'  What's  the  matter  now  ?  " 

'  My  aunt." 

'  You  seem  to  have  acquired  a  trick  recently  of  looking 
at  all  the  difficulties  of  your  position  at  once.  Why  don't 
you  take  them  singly  ?  You've  just  got  rid  of  Mac- 
kenzie's opposition — that  might  have  contented  you  for 
a  while." 

"  I  think  the  best  plan  will  be  to  say  nothing  of  this  to  my 
aunt  at  present.  I  think  we  ought  to  get  married  first ;  and 
when  I  take  Sheila  to  see  her  as  my  wife,  what  can  she  say 
then  ?  " 

"But  what  is  Sheila  likely  to  say  before  then?  And 
Sheila's  father  ?  You  must  be  out  of  your  mind." 

"  There  will  be  a  pretty  scene,  then,  when  I  tell  her." 

"  Scenes  don't  hurt  anybody,  unless  when  they  end  in 
brickbats  and  decanters.  Your  aunt  must  know  you  would 
marry  some  day." 

"  Yes,  but  you  know  whom  she  wished  me  to  many." 

"That  is  nothing.     Every  old  lady  has  a  fancy  for 


"FAREWELL,  MACKRIMMON!"  139 

imagining  possible  marriages  ;  but  your  aunt  is  a  reasonable 
woman,  and  could  not  possibly  object  to  your  marrying  a 
girl  like  Sheila." 

"  Oh,  couldn't  she  ?  Then  you  don't  know  her.  '  Frank, 
my  dear,  what  are  the  arms  borne  by  your  wife's  family  ?' — 
'  My  dear  aunt,  I  u'ill  describe  them  to  you  as  becomes  a 
dutiful  nephew.  The  arms  are  quarterly :  first  and  fourth, 
vert,  a  herring,  argent ;  second  and  third,  azure,  a  solan-goose, 
volant,  or.  The  crest,  out  of  a  crown  vallery,  argent,  a  cask 
of  whisky,  gules.  Supporters,  dexter,  a  gillie,  sinister,  a 
fisherman.'1 " 

"  And  a  very  good  coat-of-arms  too.  You  might  add  the 
motto  Ultimus  regum.  Or  Ataviseditusregibus.  Or  Tyrrhena- 
regum  progenies.  To  think  that  your  aunt  would  forbid  your 
wedding  a  king's  daughter  !  " 

"  I  should  wed  the  king's  daughter,  aunt  or  no  aunt,  in 
any  case  ;  but  you  see  it  would  be  uncommonly  awkward — 
for  old  Mackenzie  would  want  to  know  something  more 
particular  about  my  circumstances — and  he  might  ask  for 
references  to  the  old  lady  herself,  just  as  if  I  were  a  tenant 
about  to  take  a  house " 

"  I  have  given  him  enough  references.  Go  to  sleep  ;  and 
don't  bother  yourself." 

But  now  Ingram  felt  himself  just  as  unable  as  his  com- 
panion to  escape  into  unconsciousness,  and  so  he  roused 
himself  thoroughly,  and  began  to  talk  about  Lewis,  and 
Borva,  and  the  Mackenzies,  and  the  duties  and  responsibilities 
Lavender  would  undertake  in  marrying  Sheila. 

"  Mackenzie,"  he  said,  "  will  expect  you  to  live  in  Storno- 
way  at  least  half  the  year,  and  it  will  be  very  hard  on  him 
if  you  don't." 

"Oh,  as  to  that,"  said  the  other,  "I  should  have  no 
objection  ;  but,  you  see,  if  I  am  to  get  married  I  really  think 
I  ought  to  try  to  get  into  some  position  of  earning  my  own 
living,  or  helping  towards  it,  you  know.  I  begin  to  see  how 
galling  this  sort  of  dependence  on  my  aunt  might  be,  if  I 
wished  to  act  for  myself.  Now  if  I  were  to  begin  to  do  any- 
thing, I  could  not  go  and  bury  myself  in  Lewis  for  half  the 
year — just  at  first ;  by  and  by,  you  know,  it  might  be 
different.  But  don't  you  think  I  ought  to  begin  and  do 
something  ?  " 


HO  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Most  certainly.  I  have  often  wished  you  had  been  born 
a  carpenter,  or  painter,  or  glazier." 

"People  are  not  born  carpenters  or  glaziers,  but  some- 
times they  are  born  painters.  I  think  I  have  been  born 
nothing ;  but  I  am  willing  to  try,  more  especially  as  I 
think  Sheila  would  like  it." 

"  I  know  she  would." 

"  I  will  write  and  tell  her  the  moment  I  get  to  London." 

"  I  would  fix  first  what  your  occupation  was  to  be,  if  I 
were  you.  There  is  no  hurry  about  telling  Sheila  ;  although 
she  will  be  very  glad  to  get  as  much  news  of  you  as  possible, 
and  I  hope  you  will  spare  no  time  or  trouble  in  pleasing  her 
in  that  line.  By  the  way,  what  an  infamous  shame  it  was 
of  you  to  go  and  gammon  old  Mackenzie  into  the  belief  that 
he  can  read  poetry :  why,  he  will  make  that  girl's  life  a 
burden  to  her.  I  heard  him  propose  to  read  'Paradise 
Lost '  to  her  as  soon  as  the  rain  sets  in." 

"I  didn't  gammon  him,"  said  Lavender,  with  a  laugh. 
"  Every  man  thinks  he  can  read  poetry  better  than  every 
other  man,  even  as  every  man  fancies  that  no  one  gets 
cigars  as  good  and  as  cheap  as  he  does,  and  that  no  one  can 
drive  a  dog-cart  safely  but  himself.  My  talking  about  his 
reading  was  not  as  bad  as  Sheila's  persuading  him  that  he 
can  play  whist.  Did  you  ever  know  a  man  who  did  not 
believe  that  everybody  else's  reading  of  poetry  was  affected 
and  unbearable  ?  I  know  Mackenzie  must  have  been  reading 
poetry  to  Sheila  long  before  I  mentioned  it  to  him." 

"  But  that  suggestion  about  his  resonant  voice  and  the 
Crystal  Palace  !  " 

"  ThaWas  a  joke." 

"  He  did  not  take  it  as  a  joke,  and  neither  did  Sheila." 

"  Well,  Sheila  would  believe  that  her  father  could  com- 
mand the  Channel  Fleet,  or  turn  out  the  present  Ministry, 
or  build  a  bridge  to  America,  if  only  anybody  hinted  it  to 
her.  Touching  that  Crystal  Palace  :  Did  you  observe  how 
little  notion  of  size  she  could  have  got  from  pictures  when 
she  asked  me  if  the  Crystal  Palace  was  much  bigger  than 
the  conservatories  at  Lewis  Castle  ?  " 

"  What  a  world  of  wonder  the  girl  is  coming  into  !  "  said 
the  other,  absently.  "  But  it  will  be  all  lit  up  by  one  sun, 
if  only  you  take  care  of  her,  and  justify  her  belief  in  you." 


"FAREWELL,  MACKRIMMON  !»  141 

"  I  have  not  much  doubt,"  said  Lavender,  with  a  certain 
modest  confidence  in  his  manner  which  had  repeatedly  of 
late  pleased  his  friend. 

Even  Sheila  herself  could  scarcely  have  found  London 
more  strange  than  did  the  two  men  who  had  just  returned 
from  a  month's  sojourn  in  the  northern  Hebrides.  The 
dingy  trees  in  Euston  Square,  the  pale  sunlight  that  shone 
down  on  the  grey  pavements,  the  noise  of  the  omnibuses 
and  carts,  the  multitude  of  strangers,  the  blue  and  mist-like 
smoke  that  hung  about  Tottenham  Court  Road — all  were 
as  strange  to  them  as  the  sensation  of  sitting  in  a  hansom 
and  being  driven  along  by  an  unseen  driver.  Lavender 
confessed  afterwards  that  he  was  pervaded  by  an  odd  sort  of 
desire  to  know  whether  there  was  anybody  in  London  at  all 
like  Sheila.  Now  and  again  a  smartly-dressed  girl  passed 
along  the  pavement — what  was  it  that  made  the  difference 
between  her  and  that  other  girl  whom  he  had  just  left  ? 
Yet  he  wished  to  have  the  difference  as  decided  as  possible. 
When  some  bright,  fresh-coloured,  pleasant-looking  girl 
passed,  he  was  anxious  to  prove  to  himself  that  she  was  not 
to  be  compared  with  Sheila.  Where,  in  all  London,  could 
you  find  eyes  that  told  so  much  ?  He  forgot  to  place  the 
speciality  of  Sheila's  eyes  in  the  fact  of  their  being  a  dark 
grey  blue  under  black  eyelashes.  What  he  did  remember 
was  that  no  eyes  could  possibly  say  the  same  things  to  him 
as  they  had  said.  And  where,  in  all  London,  was  the  same 
sweet  aspect  to  be  found,  or  the  same  unconsciously  proud 
and  gentle  demeanour,  or  the  same  tender  friendliness  ex- 
pressed in  a  beautiful  face  ?  He  would  not  say  anything 
against  London  women,  for  all  that.  It  was  no  fault  of 
theirs  that  they  could  not  be  sea-kings'  daughters,  with  the 
courage,  and  frankness,  and  sweetness  of  the  sea  gone  into 
their  blood.  He  was  only  too  pleased  to  have  proved  to 
himself — by  looking  at  some  half-dozen  pretty  shop-girls — 
that  not  in  London  was  there  anyone  to  compare  with 
Princess  Sheila. 

For  many  a  day  thereafter  Ingram  had  to  suffer  a  good 
deal  of  this  sort  of  lover's  logic,  and  bore  it  with  great  forti- 
tude. Indeed,  nothing  pleased  him  more  than  to  observe  that 
Lavender's  affection,  so  far  from  waning,  engrossed  more 
and  more  of  his  thought  and  his  time  ;  and  he  listened  with 


142  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

unfailing  good  nature  and  patience  to  the  perpetual  talk  of 
his  companion  about  Sheila,  and  her  home,  and  the  future 
that  might  be  in  store  for  both  of  them.  If  he  had  accepted 
half  the  invitations  to  dinner  sent  down  to  him  at  the  Board 
of  Trade  by  his  friend,  he  would  scarcely  ever  have  been  out 
of  Lavender's  club.  Many  a  long  evening  they  passed  in 
this  way — either  in  Lavender's  rooms  in  King  Street  or  in 
Ingram's  lodgings  in  Sloane  Street.  Ingram  was  content  to 
lie  in  a  chair  and  smoke,  sometimes  putting  in  a  word  of 
caution  to  bring  Lavender  back  from  the  romantic  Sheila  to 
the  real  Sheila,  sometimes  smiling  at  some  wild  proposal  or 
statement  on  the  part  of  his  friend,  but  always  glad  to  see 
that  the  pretty  idealisms  planted  during  their  stay  in  the  far 
North  were  in  no  danger  of  dying  out  down  here  in  the 
South.  Those  were  great  days,  too,  when  a  letter  arrived 
from  Sheila.  Nothing  had  been  said  about  their  corre- 
sponding ;  but  Lavender  had  written  shortly  after  his  arrival 
in  London ;  and  Sheila  had  answered  for  her  father  and 
herself.  It  wanted  but  a  very  little  amount  of  ingenuity  to 
continue  the  interchange  of  letters  thus  begun  ;  and  when 
the  well-known  envelope  arrived,  high  holiday  was  im- 
mediately proclaimed  by  the  recipient  of  it.  He  did  not 
show  Ingram  these  letters,  of  course  ;  but  the  contents  of 
them  were  soon  bit  by  bit  revealed.  He  was  also  permitted 
to  see  the  envelope,  as  if  Sheila's  handwriting  had  some 
magical  charm  about  it.  Sometimes,  indeed,  Ingram  had 
himself  a  letter  from  Sheila  ;  and  that  was  immediately 
shown  to  Lavender.  Was  he  pleased  to  find  that  these  com- 
munications were  excessively  business-like — describing  how 
the  fishing  was  going  on,  what  was  doing  in  the  schools,  and 
how  John  the  Piper  was  conducting  himself,  with  talk  about 
the  projected  telegraphic  cable,  the  shooting  in  Harris,  the 
health  of  Bras,  and  other  esoteric  matters  ? 

Lavender's  communications  with  the  King  of  Borva  were 
of  a  different  nature.  Wonderful  volumes  on  building, 
agriculture,  and  what  not,  tobacco  hailing  from  certain  royal 
sources  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Pyramids,  and  now  and 
again  a  new  sort  of  rifle  or  some  fresh  invention  in  fishing- 
tackle — these  were  the  sort  of  things  that  found  their  way  to 
Lewis.  And  then,  in  reply,  came  haunches  of  venison,  and 
kegs  of  rare  whisky,  the  skins  of  wild  animals,  which,  all 


'43 

very  admirable  in  their  way,  were  a  trifle  cumbersome  in  a 
couple  of  modest  rooms  in  King  Street,  St.  James's.  But 
here  Lavender  hit  upon  a  happy  device.  He  had  long  ago 
talked  to  his  aunt  of  the  mysterious  potentate  in  the  far 
North,  who  was  the  ruler  of  man,  beast,  and  fish,  and  who 
had  an  only  daughter.  When  these  presents  arrived,  Mrs. 
Lavender  was  informed  that  they  were  meant  for  her  ;  arid 
was  given  to  understand  that  they  were  the  propitiatory 
gifts  of  a  half-savage  sovereign  who  wished  to  seek  her 
friendship.  In  vain  did  Ingram  warn  Lavender  of  the  pos- 
sible danger  of  this  foolish  joke.  The  young  man  laughed, 
and  would  come  down  to  Sloane  Street  with  another  story  of 
his  success  as  an  envoy  of  the  distant  king. 

And  so  the  months  went  slowly  by  ;  and  Lavender  raved 
about  Sheila,  and  dreamed  about  Sheila,  and  was  always 
going  to  begin  some  splendid  achievement  for  Sheila's  sake, 
but  never  just  managed  to  begin.  After  all,  the  future  did 
not  look  very  terrible ;  and  the  present  was  satisfactory 
enough.  Mrs.  Lavender  had  no  objection  whatever  to 
listening  to  his  praises  of  Sheila,  and  had  even  gone  the 
length  of  approving  of  the  girl's  photograph  when  it  was 
shown  her.  But  at  the  end  of  six  months,  Lavender 
suddenly  went  down  to  Sloane  Street,  found  Ingram  in  bis 
lodgings,  and  said — 

*'  Ingram,  I  start  for  Lewis  to-morrow." 

"  The  more  fool  you,"  was  the  complacent  reply. 

"  I  can't  bear  this  any  longer  ;  I  must  go  and  see  her." 

"  You'll  have  to  bear  worse  if  you  go.  Yoti  don't  know 
what  getting  to  Lewis  is  in  the  winter.  You'll  be  killed 
with  cold  before  you  see  the  Minch." 

"  I  can  stand  a  good  bit  of  cold,  when  there's  a  reason  for 
it,"  said  the  young  man  ;  "  and  I  have  written  to  Sheila  to 
say  I  should  start  to-mom>\\.'' 

•'  In  that  case  I  had  better  make  use  of  you.  I  suppose 
you  won't  mind  taking  up  to  Sheila  a  sealskin  jacket  that  I 
have  bought  for  her." 

"  That  you  have  bought  for  her  !  "  said  the  other. 

How  could  he  have  spared  15?.  out  of  his  narrow  income 
for  such  a  present !  And  yet  he  laughed  at  the  idea  of  his 
ever  having  been  in  love  with  Sheila. 

Lavender  took  the  sealskin  jacket  with  him,  and  started 


144  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

on  his  journey  to  the  North.  It  was  certainly  all  that 
Ingram  had  prophesied,  in  the  way  of  discomfort,  hardship, 
and  delay.  But  one  morning,  Lavender,  coming  up  from 
the  cabin  of  the  steamer,  into  which  he  had  descended  to 
escape  from  the  bitter  wind  and  the  sleet,  saw  before  him  a 
strange  thing.  In  the  middle  of  the  black  sea,  and  under  a 
dark  grey  sky,  lay  a  long  wonder-land  of  gleaming  snow. 
Far  as  the  eye  could  see  the  successive  headlands  of  pale 
white  jutted  out  into  the  dark  ocean,  until  in  the  south  they 
faded  into  a  grey  mist  and  became  invisible.  And  when 
they  got  into  Stornoway  harbour,  how  black  seemed  the 
waters  of  the  little  bay,  and  the  hulls  of  the  boats,  and  the 
windows  of  the  houses,  against  the  blinding  white  of  the 
encircling  hills  ! 

"  Yes,"  said  Lavender  to  the  captain,  "  it  will  be  a  cold 
drive  across  to  Loch  Roag.  I  shall  give  Mackenzie's  man  a 
good  dram  before  we  start." 

But  it  was  not  Mr.  Mackenzie's  notion  of  hospitality  to 
send  Duncan  to  meet  an  honoured  guest ;  and  ere  the  vessel 
was  fast  moored,  Lavender  had  caught  sight  of  the  well- 
known  pair  of  horses,  and  the  brown  waggonette,  and  Mac- 
kenzie stamping  up  and  down  in  the  trampled  snow.  And 
this  figure  close  down  to  the  edge  of  the  quay  ?  Surely 
there  was  something  about  the  thick  grey  shawl,  the  white 
feather,  the  set  of  the  head  that  he  knew  ! 

"  Why,  Sheila !  "  he  cried,  jumping  ashore  before  the 
gangway  was  shoved  across,  "  whatever  made  you  come  to 
Stornoway  on  such  a  day  ?  " 

"  And  it  is  not  much  my  coming  to  Stornoway  if  you  will 
come  all  the  way  from  England  to  the  Lewis,"  said  Sheila, 
looking  up  with  her  bright  and  glad  eyes. 

For  six  months  he  had  been  trying  to  recall  the  tones  of 
her  voice,  in  looking  at  her  picture,  and  had  failed  ;  now  he 
fancied  that  she  spoke  more  sweetly  and  musically  than  ever. 

"  Ay,  ay,"  said  Mackenzie,  when  he  had  shaken  hands  with 
the  young  man,  "  it  wass  a  piece  of  foolishness  her  coming 
over  to  meet  you  in  Styornoway  ;  but  the  girl  will  be  neither 
to  hold  nor  to  bind  when  she  teks  a  foolishness  into  her  head." 

"  Is  this  the  character  I  hear  of  you,  Sheila  ?  "  he  said  ; 
and  Mackenzie  laughed  at  his  daughter's  embarrassment, 
and  said  she  was  a  good  lass  for  all  that,  and  bundled  both 


"FAREWELL,  MACKR1MMON!"  145 

the  young  folks  into  the  inn,  where  luncheon  had  been  pro- 
vided, with  a  blazing  fire  in  the  room,  and  a  kettle  of  hot 
water  steaming  beside  it. 

When  they  got  to  Borva,  Lavender  began  to  see  that 
Mackenzie  had  laid  the  most  subtle  plans  for  reconciling 
him  to  the  hard  weather  of  these  northern  winters  ;  and 
the  young  man,  nothing  loth,  fell  into  his  ways,  and  was 
astonished  at  the  amusement  and  interest  that  could  be  got 
out  of  a  residence  in  this  bleak  island  at  such  a  season. 
Mackenzie  discarded  at  once  the  feeble  protections  against 
cold  and  wet  which  his  guest  had  brought  with  him.  He 
gave  him  a  pair  of  his  own  knickerbockers  and  enormous 
boots  ;  he  made  him  wear  a  frieze  coat  borrowed  from 
Duncan  ;  he  insisted  on  his  turning  down  the  flap  of  a 
sealskin  cap  and  tying  the  ends  under  his  chin  :  and  thus 
equipped  they  started  on  many  a  rare  expedition  round  the 
coast.  But  on  their  first  going  out,  Mackenzie,  looking  at 
him,  said  with  some  chagrin — • 

"  Will  they  wear  gloves  when  they  go  shooting  in  your 
country  ?  " 

"  Oh,"  said  Lavender,  "  these  are  only  a  pair  of  old  dog- 
skins I  used  chiefly  to  keep  my  hands  clean.  You  see  I 
have  cut  out  the  trigger-finger.  And  they  keep  your  hands 
from  being  numbed,  you  know,  with  the  cold  or  the  rain." 

"  There  will  be  not  much  need  of  that  after  a  little 
while,"  said  Mackenzie  ;  and,  indeed,  after  half-an-hour's 
tramping  over  snow  and  climbing  over  rocks,  Lavender  was 
well  inclined  to  please  the  old  man  by  tossing  the  gloves 
into  the  sea,  for  his  hands  were  burning  with  heat. 

Then  the  pleasant  evenings  ! — after  all  the  fatigues  of 
the  day  were  over,  clothes  changed,  dinner  despatched,  and 
Sheila  at  the  open  piano  in  that  warm  little  drawing-room, 
with  its  strange  shells,  and  fish,  and  birds. 

"  Love  in  thine  eyes  for  ever  plays ; 
He  in  thy  snowy  bosom  strays," 

they  sang,  just  as  in  the  bygone  times  of  summer  ;  and  now 
old  Mackenzie  had  got  on  a  bit  further  in  his  musical 
studies,  and  could  hum  with  the  best  of  them — 

"  He  makes  thy  rosy  lips  his  care, 
And  walks  the  mazes  of  thy  hair." 


146  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

There  was  no  winter  at  all  in  the  snug  little  room,  with  its 
crimson  fire,  and  closed  shutters,  and  songs  of  happier 
times.  "  When  the  rosy  morn  appearing  "  had  nothing 
inappropriate  in  it ;  and  if  they  particularly  studied  the 
words  of  "  0  wert  thou  in  the  cauld  blast,"  it  was  only  that 
Sheila  might  teach  her  companion  the  Scotch  pronunciation, 
as  far  as  she  knew  it.  And  once,  half  in  a  joke,  Lavender 
said  he  could  believe  it  was  summer  again  if  Sheila  had  only 
on  her  slate-grey  silk  dress,  with  a  red  ribbon  round  her  neck  ; 
and  sure  enough,  after  dinner,  she  came  down  in  that  dress, 
and  Lavender  took  her  hand  and  kissed  it  in  gratitude. 
Just  at  that  moment,  too,  Mackenzie  began  to  swear  at 
Duncan  for  not  having  brought  him  his  pipe,  and  not  only 
went  out  of  the  room  to  look  for  it,  but  was  a  full  half- 
hour  in  finding  it.  When  he  came  in  again  he  was  singing 
carelessly, 

"Love  in  thine  eyes  for  ever  plays," 

just  as  if  he  had  got  his  pipe  round  the  corner. 

For  it  had  been  all  explained  by  this  time,  you  know ; 
and  Sheila  had  in  a  couple  of  trembling  words  pledged  away 
her  life,  and  her  father  had  given  his  consent.  More  than 
that  he  would  have  done  for  the  girl,  if  need  were ;  and 
when  he  saw  the  perfect  happiness  shining  in  her  eyes — 
when  he  saw  that,  through  some  vague  feelings  of  com- 
punction, or  gratitude,  or  even  exuberant  joy,  she  was  more 
than  usually  affectionate  towards  himself — he  grew  reconciled 
to  the  ways  of  Providence,  and  was  ready  to  believe  that 
Ingram  had  done  them  all  a  good  turn  in  bringing  his 
friend  from  the  South  with  him.  If  there  was  any  haunting 
fear  at  all,  it  was  about  the  possibility  of  Sheila's  husband 
refusing  to  live  in  Stornoway,  even  for  half  the  year,  or  a 
portion  of  the  year  ;  but  did  not  the  young  man  express 
himself  as  delighted  beyond  measure  with  Lewis,  and  the 
Lewis  people,  and  the  sports  and  scenery  and  climate 
of  the  island  ?  If  Mackenzie  could  have  bought  fine 
weather  at  201.  a  day,  Lavender  would  have  gone  back  to 
London  with  the  conviction  that  there  was  only  one  thing 
better  than  Lewis  in  summer-time,  and  that  was  Lewis  in 
time  of  snow  and  frost. 

The  blow  fell.  One  evening  a  distinct  thaw  set  in  ; 
during  the  night  the  wind  went  round  to  the  south-west ; 


"FAREWELL,  MACKRIMMON  !"  147 

and  in  the  morning,  lo  !  the  very  desolation  of  desolation  ; 
Suainabhal,  Mealasabhal,  Cracabhal,  were  all  hidden  away 
behind  dreary  folds  of  mist ;  a  slow  and  steady  rain  poured 
down  from  the  lowering  skies  on  the  wet  rocks,  the  marshy 
pasture-land,  and  the  leafless  bushes  ;  the  Atlantic  lay  dark 
under  a  grey  fog  ;  and  you  could  scarcely  see  across  the 
loch  in  front  of  the  house.  Sometimes  the  wind  freshened 
a  bit,  and  howled  about  the  house,  or  dashed  showers 
against  the  streaming  panes  ;  but  ordinarily  there  was  no 
sound  but  the  ceaseless  hissing  of  the  rain  on  the  wet 
gravel  at  the  door  and  the  rush  of  the  waves  along  the 
black  rocks.  All  signs  of  life  seemed  to  have  fled  from  the 
earth  and  the  sky.  Bird  and  beast  had  alike  taken  shelter  ; 
and  not  even  a  gull  or  a  sea-pye  crossed  the  melancholy  lines 
of  moorland  which  were  half  obscured  by  the  sombre  mist. 

"  "Well,  it  can't  be  fine  weather  always,"  said  Lavender, 
cheerfully,  when  Mackenzie  was  affecting  to  be  greatly 
surprised  to  find  such  a  thing  as  rain  in  the  island  of  Lewis. 

"  No,  that  iss  quite  true,"  said  the  old  man ;  "  it  wass 
ferry  good  weather  we  were  having  since  you  hef  come 
here.  And  what  iss  a  little  rain  ? — oh,  nothing  at  all. 
You  will  see  it  will  go  away  whenever  the  wind  veers  round." 

With  that  Mackenzie  would  again  go  out  to  the  front  of 
the  house,  take  a  turn  up  and  down  the  wet  gravel,  and 
pretend  to  be  scanning  the  horizon  for  signs  of  a  change. 
Sheila,  a  good  deal  more  honest,  went  about  her  household 
duties,  saying  merely  to  Lavender — • 

"  I  am  very  sorry  the  weather  has  broken  ;  but  it  may 
clear  before  you  go  away  from  Borva." 

"  Before  I  go  ?    Do  you  expect  it  to  rain  for  a  week  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  it  will  not ;  but  it  is  looking  very  bad  to-day," 
said  Sheila. 

"  "Well,  I  don't  care,"  said  the  young  man,  "  though  it 
should  rain  the  skies  down,  if  only  you  would  keep  indoors, 
Sheila.  But  you  do  go  out  in  such  a  reckless  fashion. 
You  don't  seem  to  reflect  that  it  is  raining." 

"  I  do  not  get  wet,"  she  said. 

"  "Why,  when  you  came  up  from  the  shore  half  an  hour 
ago,  your  hair  was  as  wet  as  possible,  and  your  face  all  red 
and  gleaming  with  the  rain." 

"  But  I  am  none  the  worse.  And  I  am  not  wet  now.  It 

L  2 


148  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

is  impossible  that  you  will  always  keep  in  a  room,  if  you 
have  things  to  do  ;  and  a  little  rain  does  not  hurt  any  one." 

"  It  occurs  to  me,  Sheila,"  he  observed,  slowly,  "  that 
you  are  an  exceedingly  obstinate  and  self-willed  young 
person,  and  that  no  one  has  ever  exercised  any  proper 
control  over  you." 

She  looked  up  for  a  moment,  with  a  sudden  glance  of 
surprise  and  pain  ;  then  she  saw  in  his  eyes  that  he  meant 
nothing  ;  and  she  went  forward  to  him,  putting  her  hand 
in  his  hand,  and  saying  with  a  smile — 

"  I  am  very  willing  to  be  controlled." 

"  Are  you  really  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Then  hear  my  commands.  You  shall  not  go  out  in 
time  of  rain  without  putting  something  over  your  head,  or 
taking  an  umbrella.  You  shall  not  go  out  in  the  Maighdean- 
mhara  without  taking  some  one  with  you  besides  Mairi. 
You  shall  never,  if  you  are  away  from  home,  go  within 
fifty  yards  of  the  sea,  so  long  as  there  is  snow  on  the 
rocks " 

"  But  that  is  so  very  many  things  already — is  it  not 
enough  ?  "  said  Sheila. 

"  You  will  faithfully  remember  and  observe  these  rules  ?  " 

"I  will." 

"  Then  you  are  a  more  obedient  girl  than  I  imagined,  or 
expected  ;  and  you  may  now,  if  you  are  good,  have  the 
satisfaction  of  offering  me  a  glass  of  sherry  and  a  biscuit, 
for,  rain  or  no  rain,  Lewis  is  a  dreadful  place  for  making 
people  hungry." 

Mackenzie  need  not  have  been  afraid.  Strange  as  it  may 
appear,  Lavender  was  well  content  with  the  wet  weather. 
No  depression,  or  impatience,  or  remonstrance  was  visible 
on  his  face  when  he  went  to  the  blurred  windows,  day  after 
day,  to  see  only  the  same  desolate  picture — the  dark  sea, 
the  wet  rocks,  the  grey  mists  over  the  moorland,  and  the 
shining  of  the  red  gravel  before  the  house.  He  would 
stand  with  his  hands  in  his  pocket,  and  whistle  "  Love  in 
thine  eyes  for  ever  plays,"  just  as  if  he  were  looking  out  on 
a  cheerful  summer  sunrise.  When  he  and  Sheila  went  to 
the  door,  and  were  received  by  a  cold  blast  of  wet  wind 
and  a  driving  shower  of  rain,  he  would  slam  the  door  to 


"FAREWELL,  MACKRIMMONi*  149 

again  with  a  laugh,  and  pull  the  girl  back  into  the  house. 
Sometimes  she  would  not  be  controlled  ;  and  then  he  would 
accompany  her  about  the  garden  as  she  attended  to  her 
duties,  or  would  go  down  to  the  shore  with  her  to  give 
Bras  a  run.  From  these  excursions  he  returned  in  the  best 
of  spirits,  with  a  fine  colour  in  his  face  ;  until,  having  got 
accustomed  to  heavy  boots,  impervious  frieze,  and  the 
discomfort  of  wet  hands,  he  grew  to  be  about  as  indifferent 
to  the  rain  as  Sheila  herself,  and  went  fishing,  or  shooting, 
or  boating  with  much  content,  whether  it  was  wet  or  dry. 

"  It  has  been  the  happiest  month  of  my  lif  e — I  know 
that,"  he  said  to  Mackenzie,  as  they  stood  together  on  the 
quay  at  Stomoway. 

"  And  I  hope  you  will  hef  many  like  it  in  the  Lewis," 
said  the  old  man,  cheerfully. 

"  I  think  I  should  soon  learn  to  become  a  Highlander  up 
here,"  said  Lavender,  "  if  Sheila  would  only  teach  me  the 
Gaelic." 

"  The  Gaelic  !  "  cried  Mackenzie,  impatiently.  "  The 
Gaelic  !  It  is  none  of  the  gentlemen  who  will  come  here 
in  autumn  will  want  the  Gaelic  ;  and  what  for  would  you 
want  the  Gaelic — ay,  if  you  was  staying  here  the  whole 
year  round  ?  " 

"But  Sheila  will  teach  me  all  the  same — won't  you, 
Sheila  ?  "  he  said,  turning  to  his  companion,  who  was  gazing 
somewhat  blankly  at  the  rough  grey  sea  beyond  the  harbour. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  girl :  she  seemed  in  no  mood  for  joking. 

Lavender  returned  to  town  more  in  love  than  ever  ;  and 
soon  the  news  of  his  engagement  was  spread  abroad — he 
nothing  loth.  Most  of  his  club-friends  laughed,  and 
prophesied  it  would  come  to  nothing.  How  could  a  man 
in  Lavender's  position  marry  anybody  but  an  heiress  ?  He 
could  not  afford  to  go  and  marry  a  fisherman's  daughter. 
Others  came  to  the  conclusion  that  artists,  and  writers,  and 
all  that  sort  of  people,  were  incomprehensible  ;  and  said 
"  Poor  beggar ! "  when  they  thought  of  the  fashion  in 
which  Lavender  had  ruined  his  chances  in  life.  His  lady- 
friends,  however,  were  much  more  sympathetic.  There  was 
a  dash  of  romance  in  the  story  ;  and  would  not  the  Highland 
girl  be  a  curiosity  for  a  little  while  after  she  came  to  town  ? 
Was  she  like  any  of  the  pictures  Mr.  Lavender  had 


150  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

hanging  up  in  his  rooms  ?  Had  he  not  even  a  sketch  of 
her  ?  An  artist,  and  yet  not  have  a  portrait  of  the  girl  he 
had  chosen  to  marry  ?  Lavender  had  no  portrait  of  Sheila 
to  show.  Some  little  photographs  he  had  he  kept  for  his 
own  pocket-book  ;  while  in  vain  had  he  tried  to  get  some 
sketch  or  picture  that  would  convey  to  the  little  world  of 
his  friends  and  acquaintances  some  notion  of  his  future 
bride.  They  were  left  to  draw  on  their  imagination  for 
some  presentiment  of  the  coming  Princess. 

He  told  Mrs.  Lavender,  of  course.  She  said  little ;  but 
sent  for  Edward  Ingram.  Him  she  questioned  in  a  cautious, 
close,  and  yet  apparently  indifferent  way  ;  and  then  merely 
said  that  Frank  was  very  impetuous  ;  that  it  was  a  pity  he 
had  resolved  on  marrying  out  of  his  own  sphere  of  life  ;  but 
that  she  hoped  the  young  lady  from  the  Highlands  would 
prove  a  good  wife  to  him. 

"  I  hope  he  will  prove  a  good  husband  to  her,"  said 
Ingram,  with  unusual  sharpness. 

"  Frank  is  very  impetuous  ;  "  that  was  all  Mrs.  Lavender 
would  say. 

By  and  by,  as  the  spring  drew  on,  and  the  time  of  the 
marriage  was  coming  nearer,  the  important  business  of 
taking  and  furnishing  a  house  for  Sheila's  reception  occupied 
the  attention  of  the  young  man  from  morning  till  night. 
He  had  been  somewhat  disappointed  at  the  cold  fashion  in 
which  his  aunt  looked  upon  his  choice — admitting  everything 
he  had  to  say  in  praise  of  Sheila,  but  never  expressing  any 
approval  of  his  conduct,  or  hope  about  the  future.  But  now 
she  showed  herself  most  amiably  and  generously  disposed. 
She  supplied  the  young  man  with  abundant  funds  wherewith 
to  furnish  the  house  according  to  his  own  fancy.  It  was  a 
small  house — fronting  a  somewhat  common-place  square  in 
Notting  Hill— but  it  was  to  be  a  miracle  of  artistic  adorn- 
ment inside.  He  tortured  himself  for  days  over  rival  shades 
and  hues  ;  he  drew  designs  for  the  chairs  ;  he  himself 
painted  a  good  deal  of  paneling  ;  and,  in  short,  gave  up  his 
whole  time  to  making  Sheila's  future  home  beautiful.  His 
aunt  regarded  these  preparations  with  little  interest ;  but 
she  certainly  gave  her  nephew  ample  means  to  indulge  the 
eccentricities  of  his  fancy. 

"  Isn't  she  a  dear  old  lady  ?  "  said  Lavender  one  night  to 


"FAREWELL,  MACKRIMMON 7"  151 

Ingram.  "  Look  here.  A  chequfi,  received  this  morning, 
for  200Z.  for  plate  and  glass." 

Ingram  looked  at  the  bit  of  pale  green  paper. 

"  I  wish  you  had  earned  the  money  yourself,  or  done 
without  the  plate  until  you  could  buy  it  with  your  own 
money." 

"  Oh,  confound  it,  Ingram,  you  carry  your  puritanical 
theories  too  far  !  Doubtless  I  shall  earn  my  own  living  by 
and  by.  Give  me  time." 

"  It  is  now  nearly  a  year  since  you  thought  of  marrying 
Sheila  Mackenzie  ;  and  you  have  not  done  a  stroke  of  work 

yet." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon.  I  have  worked  a  good  deal  of  late, 
as  you  will  see  when  you  come  up  to  my  rooms." 

"  Have  you  sold  a  single  picture  since  last  summer  ?  " 

"I  cannot  make  people  buy  my  pictures  if  they  don't 
choose  to  do  so." 

"  Have  you  made  any  effort  to  get  them  sold,  or  to  come 
to  any  arrangement  with  any  of  the  dealers  ?  " 

"  I  have  been  too  busy  of  late — looking  after  this  house, 
you  know,"  said  Lavender,  with  an  air  of  apology. 

"  You  were  not  too  busy  to  paint  a  fan  for  Mrs.  Lorraine, 
that  people  say  must  have  occupied  you  for  months." 

Lavender  laughed. 

"  Do  you  know,  Ingram,  I  think  you  are  jealous  of  Mrs. 
Lorraine,  on  account  of  Sheila.  Come,  you  shall  go  and 
see  her " 

"  No,  thank  you.  " 

"  Are  you  afraid  of  your  Puritan  principles  giving  way  ?  " 

"  I  am  afraid  that  you  are  a  very  foolish  boy,  "  said  the 
other,  with  a  good-humoured  shrug  of  resignation  ;  "  but  I 
hope  to  see  you  mend  when  you  marry." 

"  Ah,  then  you  will  see  a  difference  I "  said  Lavender, 
seriously  ;  and  so  the  dispute  ended. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  Ingram  should  go  up  to  Lewis 
to  the  marriage,  and,  after  the  ceremony  in  Stornoway, 
return  to  Borva  with  Mr.  Mackenzie,  to  remain  with  him  a 
few  days.  But  at  the  last  moment  Ingram  was  summoned 
down  to  Devonshire,  on  account  of  the  serious  illness  of 
some  near  relative,  and  accordingly  Frank  Lavender  started 
by  himself  to  bring  back  with  him  his  Highland  bride. 


152  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

His  stay  in  Borva  was  short  enough  on  this  occasion,  At 
the  end  of  it  there  came  a  wet  and  boisterous  day,  the 
occurrences  in  which  he  afterwards  remembered  as  if  they 
had  taken  place  in  a  dream.  There  were  many  faces  about, 
a  confusion  of  tongues,  a  good  deal  of  dram-drinking,  a 
skirl  of  pipes,  and  a  hurry  through  the  rain  ;  but  all  these 
things  gave  place  to  the  occasional  glance  that  he  got  from 
a  pair  of  timid  and  trusting  and  beautiful  eyes.  Yet  Sheila 
was  not  Sheila  in  that  dress  of  white,  with  her  face  a  trifle 
pale.  She  was  more  his  own  Sheila  when  she  had  donned 
her  rough  garments  of  blue,  and  when  she  stood  on  the  wet 
deck  of  the  vessel,  with  a  great  grey  shawl  around  her, 
talking  to  her  father  with  a  brave  effort  at  cheerfulness, 
although  her  lip  would  occasionally  quiver  as  one  or  other 
of  her  friends  from  Borva — many  of  them  barefooted 
children — came  up  to  bid  her  good-bye.  Her  father  talked 
rapidly,  with  a  grand  affectation  of  indifference.  He  swore 
at  the  weather.  He  bade  her  see  that  Bras  was  properly 
fed  ;  and  if  the  sea  broke  over  his  box  in  the  night,  he  was 
to  be  rubbed  dry,  and  let  out  in  the  morning  for  a  run  up 
and  down  the  deck.  She  was  not  to  forget  the  parcel 
directed  to  an  innkeeper  at  Oban.  They  would  find  Oban 
a  very  nice  place  at  which  to  break  the  journey  to  London  ; 
but  as  for  Greenock — Mackenzie  could  find  no  words  with 
which  to  describe  Greenock.  And  then,  in  the  midst  of 
all  this,  Sheila  suddenly  said — 

"  Papa,  when  does  the  steamer  leave  ?  " 

"  In  a  few  minutes.  They  have  got  nearly  all  the  cargo 
on  board." 

"  Will  you  do  me  a  great  favour,  papa  ?  " 

"  Ay  ;  but  what  is  it,  Sheila  ?  '] 

"  I  want  you  not  to  stay  here  till  the  boat  sails,  and  then 
you  will  have  all  the  people  on  the  quay  vexing  you  when 
you  are  going  away.  I  want  you  to  bid  good-bye  to  us  now, 
and  drive  away  round  to  the  point,  and  we  shall  see  you  the 
last  of  all,  when  the  steamer  has  got  out  of  the  harbour." 

"  Ferry  well,  Sheila,  I  will  do  that,"  he  said,  knowing  well 
why  the  girl  wished  it. 

So  father  and  daughter  bade  good-bye  to  each  other  ; 
and  Mackenzie  went  on  shore  with  his  face  down,  and  said 
not  a  word  to  any  of  his  friends  on  the  quay,  but  got  into 


FAIRY-LAND  153 

the  waggonette,  and  lashing  the  horses,  drove  rapidly  away. 
As  he  had  shaken  hands  with  Lavender,  Lavender  had  said 
to  him,  "  Well,  we  shall  soon  be  back  in  Borva  again  to  see 
you  ;  "  and  the  old  man  had  merely  tightened  the  grip  of 
his  hand  as  he  left.  The  roar  of  the  steampipe  ceased,  the 
throb  of  the  engines  struck  the  water,  and  the  big  steamer 
steamed  away  from  the  quay  and  out  of  the  plain  of  the 
harbour  into  a  wild  world  of  grey  waves,  and  wind,  and 
rain.  There  stood  Mackenzie  as  they  passed,  the  dark 
figure  clearly  seen  against  the  pallid  colours  of  the  dismal 
day ;  and  Sheila  waved  a  handkerchief  to  him,  until 
Stornoway,  and  its  lighthouse,  and  all  the  promontories 
and  bays  of  the  great  island,  had  faded  into  the  white  mists 
that  lay  along  the  horizon.  And  then  her  arm  fell  to  her 
side  ;  and  for  a  moment  she  stood  bewildered,  with  a  strange 
look  in  her  eyes,  of  grief,  and  almost  of  despair. 

"  Sheila,  my  darling,  you  must  go  below  now,"  said  her 
companion  ;  "  you  are  almost  dead  with  cold." 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment,  as  though  she  had 
scarcely  heard  what  he  said.  But  his  eyes  were  full  of  pity 
for  her  ;  he  drew  her  closer  to  him,  and  put  his  arms  round 
her,  and  then  she  hid  her  head  in  his  bosom,  and  sobbed 
there  like  a  child. 


CHAPTER  X. 

FAIRY-LAND. 

"  WELCOME  to  London !  " 

He  was  about  to  add  "  Sheila,"  but  suddenly  stopped.  The 
girl,  who  had  hastily  come  forward  to  meet  him,  with  a  glad 
look  in  her  eyes,  and  with  both  hands  outstretched,  doubtless 
perceived  the  brief  embarrassment  of  the  moment,  and  was 
perhaps  a  little  amused  by  it.  But  she  took  no  notice  of 
it ;  she  merely  advanced  to  him,  and  caught  both  his  hands, 
and  said — 

"  And  are  you  very  well  ?  " 

It  was  the  old  and  familiar  salutation,  uttered  in  the  same 
odd,  gentle,  insinuating  fashion,  and  in  the  same  low  and 
§weet  voice.  Sheila's  stay  in  Oban,  and  the  few  days  she 


154  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

had  already  spent  in  London,  had  not  taught  her  the  differ- 
ence between  "  very  "  and  "  ferry." 

"  It  is  so  strange  to  hear  you  speak  in  London ,  Mrs. 

Lavender,"  he  said,  with  rather  a  wry  face  as  he  pronounced 
her  full  and  proper  title. 

And  now  it  was  Sheila's  turn  to  look  a  bit  confused,  and 
colour,  and  appear  uncertain  whether  to  be  vexed  or  pleased, 
when  her  husband  himself  broke  in  with  his  usual  good- 
natured  impetuosity — 

"I  say,  Ingram,  don't  be  absurd.  Of  course  you  must 
call  her  Sheila — unless  when  there  are  people  here,  and  then 
you  may  please  yourself.  Why,  the  poor  girl  has  enough  of 
strange  things  and  names  about  her  already.  I  don't  know 
how  she  keeps  her  head.  It  would  bewilder  me,  I  know  ; 
but  I  can  see  that,  after  she  has  stood  at  the  window  for  a 
time,  and  begun  to  get  dazed  by  all  the  wonderful  sights  and 
sounds  outside,  she  suddenly  withdraws  and  fixes  all  her 
attention  on  some  little  domestic  duty,  just  as  if  she  were 
hanging  on  to  the  practical  things  of  life  to  assure  herself  it 
isn't  all  a  dream.  Isn't  that  so,  Sheila  ?  "  he  said,  putting 
his  hand  on  her  shoulder. 

"  You  ought  not  to  watch  me  like  that,"  she  said,  with  a 
smile.  "  But  it  is  the  noise  that  is  most  bewildering.  There 
are  many  places  I  will  know  already  when  I  see  them,  many 
places  and  things  I  have  known  in  pictures ;  but  now  the 
size  of  them,  and  the  noise  of  carriages,  and  the  people  always 
passing — and  always  different — always  strangers,  so  that  you 

never  see  the  same  people  any  more .  But  I  am  getting 

very  much  accustomed  to  it." 

"  You  are  trying  very  hard  to  get  accustomed  to  it,  any 
way,  my  good  girl,"  said  her  husband. 

"  You  need  not  be  in  a  hurry  ;  you  may  begin  to  regret 
some  day  that  you  have  not  a  little  of  that  feeling  of  wonder 
left,"  said  Ingram.  "  But  you  have  not  told  me  anything  of 
what  you  think  about  London,  and  of  how  you  like  it,  and 
how  you  like  your  house,  and  what  you  have  done  with  Bras, 
and  a  thousand  other  things " 

"  I  will  tell  you  all  that  directly,  when  I  have  got  for  you 
some  wine  and  some  biscuits." 

"  Sheila,  you  can  ring  for  them,"  said  her  husband  ;  but 
she  had  by  this  time  departed  on  her  mission.  Presently  she 


FAIRY-LAND  155 

returned,  and  waited  upon  Ingram  just  as  if  she  had  been  in 
her  father's  house  in  Borva,  with  the  gentlemen  in  a  hurry 
to  go  out  to  the  fishing,  and  herself  the  only  one  who  could 
serve  them. 

She  put  a  small  table  close  by  the  French  window ;  she 
drew  back  the  curtains  as  far  as  they  would  go,  to  show  the 
sunshine  of  a  bright  forenoon  in  May  lighting  up  the  trees  in 
the  square  and  gleaming  on  the  pale  and  tall  fronts  of  the 
houses  beyond  ;  and  she  wheeled  in  three  low  easy-chairs  so 
as  to  front  this  comparatively  cheerful  prospect.  Somehow 
or  other  it  seemed  quite  natural  that  Sheila  should  wheel  in 
those  chairs.  It  was  certainly  no  disrespect  on  the  part  of 
either  her  husband  or  her  visitor  which  caused  both  of  them 
to  sit  still  and  give  her  her  own  way  about  such  things.  In- 
deed, Lavender  had  not  as  yet  ever  attempted  to  impress 
upon  Sheila  the  necessity  of  cultivating  the  art  of  helplessness. 
That,  with  other  social  graces,  would  perhaps  come  in  good 
time.  She  would  soon  acquire  the  habits  and  ways  of  her 
friends  and  acquaintances,  without  his  trying  to  force  upon 
her  a  series  of  affectations,  which  would  only  embarrass  her 
and  cloud  the  perfect  frankness  and  spontaneity  of  her  nature. 
Of  one  thing  he  was  quite  assured — that,  whatever  mistakes 
Sheila  might  make  in  society,  they  would  never  render  her 
ridiculous.  Strangers  might  not  know  the  absolute  sincerity 
of  her  every  word  and  act,  which  gave  her  a  courage  that 
had  no  fear  of  criticism ;  but  they  could  at  least  see  the 
simple  grace  and  dignity  of  the  girl,  and  that  natural  ease 
of  manner  which  is  mainly  the  result  of  a  thorough  con- 
sciousness of  honesty.  To  burden  her  with  rules  and  regu- 
lations of  conduct  would  be  to  produce  the  very  catastrophes 
he  wished  to  avoid.  Where  no  attempt  is  made,  failure  is 
impossible  ;  and  he  was  meanwhile  well  content  that  Sheila 
should  simply  appear  as  Sheila,  even  although  she  might 
draw  in  a  chair  for  a  guest,  or  so  far  forget  her  dignity  as  to 
pour  out  some  wine  for  her  husband. 

"  After  all,  Sheila,"  said  Lavender,  "  hadn't  I  better  begin 
and  tell  Ingram  about  your  surprise:  and  delight  when  you 
came  near  Oban,  and  saw  the  tall  hotels,  and  the  trees  ?  It 
was  the  trees,  I  think,  that  struck  you  most ;  because,  you 
know,  those  in  Lewis — well,  to  tell  the  truth — the  fact  is,  the 
trees  of  Lewis  are  not  just— they  cannot  be  said  to 


156  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  You  bad  boy,  to  say  anything  against  the  Lewis  !  "  ex- 
claimed Sheila :  and  Ingram  held  that  she  was  right ;  and 
that  there  were  certain  sorts  of  ingratitude  more  disgraceful 
than  others,  and  that  this  was  just  about  the  worst. 

"  Oh,  I  have  brought  all  the  good  away  from  Lewis,"  said 
Lavender,  with  a  careless  impertinence. 

"  No,"  said  Sheila,  proudly.  "  You  have  not  brought  away 
my  papa ;  and  there  is  not  anyone  in  this  country  I  have 
seen  as  good  as  he  is." 

"  My  dear,  your  experience  of  the  thirty  millions  of  folks 
in  these  islands  is  quite  convincing.  I  was  wholly  in  the 
wrong  ;  and  if  you  forgive  me,  we  shall  celebrate  our  recon- 
ciliation in  a  cigarette — that  is  to  say,  Ingram  and  I  will 
perform  the  rites,  and  you  can  look  on." 

So  Sheila  went  away  to  get  the  cigarettes  also. 

"  You  don't  say  you  smoke  in  your  drawing-room,  Laven- 
der ?  "  said  Ingram,  mindful  of  the  fastidious  ways  of  his 
friend  even  when  he  had  bachelor's  rooms  in  King  Street. 

"  Don't  I,  though  ?  I  smoke  everywhere — all  over  the 
place.  Don't  you  see,  we  have  no  visitors  yet.  No  one  is 
supposed  to  know  we  have  come  South.  Sheila  must  get  all 
kinds  of  things  before  she  can  be  introduced  to  my  friends 
and  my  aunt's  friends  ;  and  the  house  must  be  put  to 
rights  too.  You  wouldn't  have  her  go  to  see  my  aunt 
in  that  sailor's  costume  she  used  to  rush  about  in  up  in  the 
Lewis  ?  " 

"  That  is  precisely  what  I  would  have,"  said  Ingram  ;  "  she 
cannot  look  more  handsome  in  any  other  dress." 

"  Why,  my  aunt  would  fancy  I  had  married  a  savage — I 
believe  she  fears  something  of  the  sort  now." 

"  And  you  haven't  even  told  her  that  you  are  in  London  ?  " 

"  No." 

"Well,  Lavender,  this  is  a  precious  silly  performance. 
Suppose  she  hears  of  your  being  in  town,  what  will  you  say 
to  her  ? " 

"  I  should  tell  her  I  wanted  a  few  days  to  get  my  wife 
properly  dressed  before  taking  her  about." 

Ingrain  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"Perhaps  you  are  right.  Perhaps,  indeed,  it  would  be 
better  if  you  waited  six  months  before  you  introduced  Sheila 
to  your  friends.  At  present  you  seem  to  be  keeping  the  foot- 


FAIRY-LAND  157 

lights  turned  down,  until  everything  is  ready  for  the  first 
scene  ;  and  then  Sheila  is  to  burst  upon  society  in  a  blaze  of 
light  and  colour.  "Well,  that  is  harmless  enough ;  but  look 
here.  You  don't  know  much  about  her  yet ;  you  will  be 
naturally  anxious  to  hear  what  the  audience,  as  it  were,  say 
of  her ;  and  there  is  just  a  chance  of  your  unconsciously 
adopting  their  impressions  and  opinions  of  .Sheila,  seeing 
that  you  have  no  very  fixed  ones  of  your  own.  Now  what 
your  social  circle  may  think  about  her  is  a  difficult  thing  to 
decide  :  and  I  confess  I  would  rather  have  seen  you  remain 
six  months  in  Lewis  before  bringing  her  up  here." 

Ingram  was  at  least  a  candid  friend.  It  was  not  the  first, 
nor  the  hundredth  time,  that  Frank  Lavender  had  to  endure 
small  lectures,  uttered  in  a  slow,  deliberate  voice,  and  yet 
with  an  indifference  of  manner  which  showed  that  Ingram 
cared  very  little  how  sharply  his  words  struck  home.  He 
rarely  even  apologised  for  his  bluntness.  These  were  his 
opinions  ;  Lavender  could  take  them  or  leave  them  as  he 
liked.  And  the  younger  man,  after  finding  his  face  flush  a 
bit  on  being  accused  of  wishing  to  make  a  dramatic  impres- 
sion with  Sheila's  entrance  into  London  society,  laughed  in 
an  embarrassed  way,  and  said — 

"  It  is  impossible  to  be  angry  with  you,  Ingram,  and  yet 
you  do  talk  so  absurdly.  I  wonder  who  is  likely  to  know- 
more  about  the  character  of  a  girl  than  her  own  husband  !  " 

"  You  may  in  time  ;  you  don't  now,"  said  Ingram,  care- 
fully balancing  a  biscuit  on  the  point  of  his  finger. 

"  The  fact  is,"  said  Lavender,  with  good-natured  im- 
patience, "you  are  the  most  romantic  card  I  know,  and 
there  is  no  pleasing  you.  You  have  all  sorts  of  exalted 
notions  about  things — about  sentiments,  and  duties,  and  so 
forth.  Well,  all  that  is  true  enough,  and  would  be  right 
enough,  if  the  world  were  filled  with  men  and  women  like 
yourself  ;  but  then  it  isn't,  you  see  ;  and  one  has  to  give  in 
to  conventionalities  of  dress,  and  living,  and  ceremonies,  if 
one  wants  to  retain  one's  friends.  Now,  I  like  to  see  you 
going  about  with  that  wide-awake — it  suits  your  brown 
complexion  and  beard — and' that  stick  that  would  do  for 
herding  sheep  ;  and  the  costume  looks  well,  and  is  business- 
like and  excellent  when  you're  off  for  a  walk  over  the 
Surrey  downs  or  lying  on  the  river-banks  about  Henley  or 


Cookham  ;  but  it  isn't,  you  know,  the  sort  of  costume  for 
a  stroll  in  the  Park " 

"  Whenever  God  withdraws  from  me  my  small  share  of 
common  sense,"  said  Ingram  slowly,  "  so  far  that  I  shall 
begin  to  think  of  having  my  clothes  made  for  the  purpose 
of  walking  in  Hyde  Park — well " 

"But  don't  you  see,"  said  Lavender,  "that  one  must 
meet  one's  friends,  especially  when  one  is  married ;  and 
when  you  know  that  at  a  certain  hour  in  the  morning  they 
are  all  to  be  found  in  a  particular  place,  and  that  a  very  plea- 
sant place — 'and  that  you  will  do  yourself  good  by  having  a 
walk  in  the  fresh  air,  and  so  forth — I  really  don't  see  anything 
very  immoral  in  going  down  for  an  hour  or  so  to  the  Park." 

"  Don't  you  think  the  pleasure  of  seeing  one's  friends 
might  be  postponed  till  one  had  done  some  sort  of  a  good 
day's  work  ?  "  said  Ingram,  mindful  of  the  goodly  promise 
of  the  youth,  and  knowing  well  that  Sheila  expected  the 
husband  of  her  choice  to  make  a  great  name  for  himself. 

"  There  now,"  cried  Lavender,  "  that  is  another  of  your 
delusions.  You  are  always  against  superstitions,  and  yet 
you  make  work  a  fetish.  You  do  with  work  just  as  women 
do  with  duty — they  carry  about  with  them  a  convenient 
little  god  ;  and  they  are  always  worshipping  it  with  small 
sacrifices  ;  and  complimenting  themselves  on  a  series  of  little 
martyrdoms  that  are  of  no  good  to  anybody.  Of  course 
duty  wouldn't  be  duty  if  it  wasn't  disagreeable  ;  and  when 
they  go  nursing  the  sick — and  they  could  get  it  better  done 
for  fifteen  shillings  a  week  by  somebody  else — they  don't 
mind  coming  back  to  their  families  with  the  seeds  of  typhus 
about  their  gowns  ;  and  when  they  crush  the  affections  in 
order  to  worship  at  the  shrine  of  duty,  they  don't  consider 
that  they  may  be  making  martyrs  of  other  folks  who  don't 
want  martyrdom,  and  get  no  sort  of  pleasure  out  of  it.  Now, 
what  in  all  the  world  is  the  good  of  work  as  work  ?  I  believe 
myself  that  work  is  an  unmistakeable  evil,  involving  all  sorts 
of  jealousy,  and  greed,  and  envy  ;  but  when  it  is  a  necessity, 
I  suppose  you  get  some  sort  of  selfish  satisfaction  in  over- 
coming it ;  and  doubtless  if  there  was  any  immediate  necessity 
in  my  case — I  don't  deny  the  necessity  may  arise,  and  that  I 
should  like  nothing  better  than  to  Avork  for  Sheila's  sake " 

"  Now  you  are  coming  to  the  point,"  said  Ingram,  who 


FAIRY-LAND  159 

had  been  listening  with  his  nsual  patience  to  his  friend's 
somewhat  chaotic  speculations.  "  Perhaps  you  may  have  to 
work  for  your  wife's  sake  and  your  own  ;  and  I  confess  I  am 
surprised  to  see  you  so  content  with  your  present  circumstances. 
If  your  aunt's  property  legally  reverted  to  you — if  you  had 
any  sort  of  family  claim  on  it — that  would  make  some  little 
difference  ;  but  you  know  that  any  sudden  quarrel  between 
you  might  leave  you  penniless  to-morrow " 

"  In  which  case  I  should  begin  to  work  to-morrow  ;  and  I 
should  come  to  you  for  my  first  commission." 

'•  And  you  shouldn't  have  it.  I  would  have  you  to  go 
and  fight  the  world  for  yourself — without  which  a  man  knows 
nothing  of  himself  or  of  his  relations  with  those  around 
him " 

"  Frank,  dear,  here  are  the  cigarettes,"  said  Sheila,  at  this 
point ;  and,  as-  she  came  and  sat  down,  the  discussion  ceased. 

For  Sheila  began  to  tell  her  friend  of  all  the  strange  ad- 
ventures that  had  befallen  her  since  she  left  the  far  island  of 
Lewis — how  she  had  seen  with  fear  the  great  mountains  of 
Skye  lit  up  by  the  wild  glare  of  a  stormy  sunrise  ;  how  she  had 
beheld  with  astonishment  the  great  fir- woods  of  Armadale; 
and  how  green  and  beautiful  were  the  shores  of  the  Sound  of 
Mull.  And  then,  Oban  ! — with  its  shining  houses,  its  blue 
bay,  and  its  magnificent  trees  all  lit  up  by  a  fair  and  still 
sunshine.  She  had  not  imagined  there  was  anywhere  in  the 
world  so  beautiful  a  place  ;  and  could  scarcely  believe  that 
London  itself  was  more  rich,  and  noble,  and  impressive. 
For  there  were  beautiful  ladies  walking  along  the  broad  pave- 
ments ;  and  there  were  shops  with  large  windows  that  seemed 
to  contain  everything  that  the  mind  could  desire  ;  and  there 
was  a  whole  fleet  of  yachts  in  the  bay.  But  it  was  the  trees, 
above  all,  that  captivated  her  ;  and  she  asked  if  they  were 
lords  who  owned  those  beautiful  houses  built  up  on  the  hill 
and  half -smothered  among  lilacs,  and  ash-trees,  and  rowan- 
trees,  and  ivy. 

"  My  darling,"  Lavender  had  said  to  her,  "  if  your  papa 
were  to  come  and  live  here,  he  could  buy  half-a-dozen  of 
those  cottages,  gardens  and  all.  They  are  mostly  the  property 
of  well-to-do  shopkeepers.  If  this  little  place  takes  your 
fancy,  what  will  you  say  when  you  go  South — when  you  see 
Wimbledon,  and  Richmond,  and  Kew,  with  their  grand  old 


160  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

commons  and  trees  ?  Why,  you  could  hide  Oban  in  a 
corner  of  Richmond  Park  !  " 

"  And  my  papa  has  seen  all  those  places  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Don't  you  think  it  strange  he  should  have  seen 
them  all,  and  known  he  could  live  in  any  of  them,  and  then 
gone  away  back  to  Borva  ?  " 

"  But  what  would  the  poor  people  have  done  if  he  had 
never  gone  back  ?  " 

"  Oh,  someone  else  would  have  taken  his  place." 

"  And  then,  if  he  were  living  here,  or  in  London,  he  might 
have  got  tired,  and  he  might  have  wished  to  go  back  to  the 
Lewis  and  see  all  the  people  he  knew ;  and  then  he  would 
come  among  them  like  a  stranger,  and  have  no  house  to 
go  to." 

Then  Lavender  said,  quite  gently — 

"  Do  you  think,  Sheila,  you  will  ever  tire  of  living  in  the 
South  ?  " 

The  girl  looked  up  quickly,  and  said,  with  a  sorb  of 
surprised  questioning  in  her  eyes — 

"  No,  not  with  you.  But  then  we  shall  often  2:0  to  the 
Lewis  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  her  husband  said,  "  as  often  as  we  can  con- 
veniently. But  it  will  take  some  time  at  first,  you  know, 
before  you  get  to  know  all  my  friends,  who  are  to  be  your 
friends,  and  before  you  get  properly  fitted  into  your  social 
circle.  That  will  take  you  a  long  time,  Sheila,  and  you 
may  have  many  annoyances  or  embarrassments  to  encounter ; 
but  you  won't  be  very  much  afraid,  my  girl  ?  " 

Sheila  merely  looked  up  to  him ;  there  was  no  fear  in 
the  frank,  brave  eyes. 

The  first  large  town  she  saw  struck  a  cold  chill  to  her 
heart.  On  a  wet  and  dismal  afternoon  they  sailed  into 
Greenock.  A  heavy  smoke  hung  about  the  black  building- 
yards  and  the  dirty  quays  ;  the  narrow  and  squalid  streets 
were  filled  with  mud  ;  and  only  the  poorer  sections  of  the 
population  waded  through  the  mire  or  hung  disconsolately 
about  the  corners  of  the  thoroughfares.  A  gloomier  picture 
could  not  well  be  conceived ;  and  Sheila,  chilled  with  the 
long  and  wet  sail,  and  bewildered  by  the  noise  and  bustle  of 
the  harbour,  was  driven  to  the  hotel  with  a  sore  heart  and  a 
downcast  face. 


FAIRY-LAND  i6i 

"This  is  not  like  London,  Frank?"  she  said,  pretty 
nearly  ready  to  cry  with  disappointment. 

"  This  ?  No.  Well,  it  is  like  a  part  of  London,  certainly, 
but  not  the  part  you  will  live  in." 

"  But  how  can  we  live  in  the  one  place  without  passing 
the  other  and  being  made  miserable  by  it  ?  There  was  no 
part  of  Oban  like  this." 

"  Why,  you  will  live  miles  away  from  the  docks  and  quays 
of  London.  You  might  live  for  a  lifetime  in  London  with- 
out ever  knowing  it  had  a  harbour.  Don't  you  be  afraid, 
Sheila.  You  will  live  in  a  district  where  there  are  far  finer 
houses  than  you  saw  in  Oban,  and  far  finer  trees  ;  and  within 
a  few  minutes'  walk  you  will  find  great  gardens  and  parks, 
with  lakes  in  them  and  wild  fowl,  and  you  will  be  able  to 
teach  the  boys  about  how  to  set  the  helm  and  the  sails  when 
they  are  launching  their  small  boats." 

"  I  should  like  that,"  said  Sheila,  with  her  face  brighten- 
ing. 

"  Perhaps  you  would  like  a  boat  yourself  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  frankly.  "  If  there  were  not  many  people 
there,  we  might  go  out  sometimes  in  the  evenings " 

Her  husband  laughed,  and  took  her  hand. 

"  You  don't  understand,  Sheila.  The  boats  the  boys  have 
are  little  things  a  foot  or  two  long — like  the  one  in  your  papa's 
bedroom  in  Borva.  But  many  of  the  boys  will  be  greatly 
obliged  to  you  if  you  would  teach  them  how  to  manage  the 
sails  properly  ;  for  sometimes  dreadful  shipwrecks  occur." 

"  You  must  bring  them  to  our  house  ;  I  am  very  fond  of 
little  boys — when  they  begin  to  forget  to  be  shy,  and  let  you 
become  acquainted  with  them." 

"  Well,"  said  Lavender,  "  I  don't  know  many  of  the  boys 
who  sail  boats  in  the  Serpentine ;  you  will  have  to  make 
their  acquaintance  yourself.  But  I  know  one  boy  whom  I 
must  bring  to  the  house.  He  is  a  German- Jew  boy,  who  is 
going  to  be  another  Mendelssohn,  his  friends  say.  He  is  a 
pretty  boy,  with  ruddy,  brown  hair,  big  black  eyes,  and  a 
fine  forehead ;  and  he  really  sings  and  plays  delightfully. 
But  you  know,  Sheila,  you  must  not  treat  him  as  a  boy,  for 
he  is  over  fifteen,  I  should  think  ;  and  if  you  were  to  kiss 
him " 

"  He  might  be  angry,"  said  Sheila,  with  perfect  simplicity. 

M 


162  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  I  might,"  said  Lavender  ;  and  then,  noticing  that  she 
seemed  a  little  surprised,  he  merely  patted  her  head  and  bade 
her  go  and  get  ready  for  dinner. 

Then  came  the  great  climax  of  Sheila's  southward  journey 
— her  arrival  in  London.  She  was  all  anxiety  to  see  her 
future  home  ;  and  as  her  luck  would  have  it,  there  was 
a  fair  Spring  morning  shining  over  the  city.  For  a  couple 
of  hours  before  she  had  sat  and  looked  out  of  the  carriage- 
window  as  the  train  whirled  rapidly  through  the  scarcely- 
awakened  country  ;  and  she  had  seen  the  soft  and  beautiful 
landscapes  of  the  South  lit  up  by  the  early  sunlight.  How 
the  bright  little  villages  shone,  with  here  and  there  a  gilt 
weather-cock  glittering  on  the  spire  of  some  small  grey 
church ;  while  as  yet  in  many  valleys  a  pale  grey  mist  lay 
along  the  bed  of  the  level  streams,  or  clung  to  the  dense  woods 
on  the  upland  heights.  Which  was  the  more  beautiful — 
the  sharp,  clear  picture,  with  its  brilliant  colours  and  its 
awakening  life,  or  the  more  mystic  landscape  over  which  was 
still  drawn  the  tender  veil  of  the  morning  haze  ?  She  could 
not  tell.  She  only  knew  that  England,  as  she  then  saw  it, 
seemed  a  wide  country  that  was  very  beautiful,  that  had  few 
inhabitants,  and  that  was  still,  and  sleepy,  and  bathed  in 
sunshine.  How  happy  must  the  people  be  in  those  quiet 
green  valleys,  by  the  side  of  slow  and  smooth  rivers,  and  mid 
great  woods  and  avenues  of  stately  trees,  the  like  of  which 
she  had  not  imagined  even  in  her  dreams  ! 

But  from  the-^noment  that  they  got  out  at  Euston  Square, 
she  seemed  a  trifle  bewildered,  and  could  only  do  implicitly 
as  her  husband  bade  her — clinging  to  his  hand  for  the  most 
part,  as  if  to  make  sure  of  guidance.  She  did,  indeed,  glance 
somewhat  nervously  at  the  hansom  into  which  Lavender 
put  her,  apparently  asking  how  such  a  tall  and  narrow  two- 
wheeled  vehicle  could  be  kept  from  toppling  over.  But 
when  he,  having  sent  on  all  their  luggage  by  a  respectable  old 
four-wheeler,  got  into  the  hansom  beside  her,  and  put  his 
hand  inside  her  arm,  and  bade  her  be  of  good  cheer  that  she 
should  have  such  a  pleasant  morning  to  welcome  her  to 
London,  she  said  "  Yes,"  mechanically,  and  only  looked  out 
in  a  wistful  fashion  at  the  tall  houses  and  trees  of  Euston 
Square,  the  mighty  and  roaring  stream  of  omnibuses,  the 
droves  of  strangers,  mostly  clad  in  black,  as  if  they  were 


FAIRY-LAND  163 

going  to  church,  and  the  pale  blue  smoke  that  seemed  to  mix 
with  the  sunshine  and  make  it  cold  and  distant. 

They  were  in  no  hurry,  these  two,  on  that  still  morning  ; 
and  so,  to  impress  Sheila  all  at  once  with  a  sense  of  the 
greatness  and  grandeur  of  London,  he  made  the  cabman  cut 
down  by  Park  Crescent  and  Portland  Place  to  Regent  Cir- 
cus. They  then  went  along  Oxford  Street ;  and  beheld  the 
crowded  omnibuses  taking  young  men  into  the  City,  while 
ajl  the  pavements  were  busy  with  hurrying  passers-by.  What 
multitudes  of  unknown  faces — unknown  to  her  and  unknown 
to  each  other  !  These  people  did  not  speak — they  only 
hurried  on,  each  intent  upon  his  own  affairs,  caring  nothing, 
apparently,  for  the  din  around  them,  and  looking  so  strange 
and  sad  in  their  black  clothes,  in  the  pale  and  misty  sunlight. 

"  You  are  in  a  trance,  Sheila,"  he  said. 

She  did  not  answer.  Surely  she  had  wandered  into  some 
magical  city  ;  for  now  the  houses  on  one  side  of  the  way 
suddenly  ceased  ;  and  she  saw  before  her  a  great  and  undu- 
lating extent  of  green,  with  a  border  of  beautiful  flowers,  and 
with  groups  of  trees  that  met  the  sky  all  along  the  southern 
horizon.  Did  the  green  and  beautiful  country  she  had  seen 
shoot  in  thus  into  the  heart  of  the  town,  or  was  there  another 
city  far  away  on  the  other  side  of  the  trees  ?  The  place  was 
almost  as  deserted  as  those  still  valleys  she  had  passed  by  in 
the  morning.  Here,  in  the  street,  there  was  the  roar  of  a 
passing  crowd  ;  but  over  there  was  a  long  and  almost 
deserted  stretch  of  Park,  with  winding  roads  and  umbrageous 
trees,  on  which  the  wan  sunlight  fell  from  between  loose 
masses  of  half-golden  cloud. 

Then  they  passed  Kensington  Gardens  ;  and  there  were 
more  people  walking  down  the  broad  highways  between  the 
elms. 

"  You  are  getting  nearly  home  now,  Sheila,"  he  said  ;  "  and 
you  will  be  able  to  come  and  walk  in  these  avenues  whenever 
you  please." 

Was  this,  then,  her  home  ? — this  section  of  a  barrack-row 
of  dwellings,  all  alike  in  steps,  pillars,  doors,  and  windows  ? 
When  she  got  inside,  the  servant  who  had  opened  the  door 
bobbed  a  curtsey  to  her  :  should  she  shake  hands  with  her, 
and  say,  "  And  are  you  ferry  well  ?  "  But  at  this  moment 
Lavender  came  running  up  the  steps,  playfully  hurried  her 

M  2 


164  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

into  the  house  and  up  the  stairs,  and  led  her  into  her  own 
drawing-room. 

"  Well,  my  girl,  what  do  you  think  of  your  home,  now  that 
you  see  it  ?  " 

Sheila  looked  round  timidly.  It  was  not  a  big  room,  but 
it  was  a  palace  in  height,  and  grandeur,  and  colour,  com- 
pared with  that  little  museum  in  Borva  in  which  Sheila's 
piano  stood.  It  was  all  so  strange  and  beautiful — the  split 
pomegranates  and  quaint  leaves  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
walls,  and  underneath  a  dull  slate  colour  where  the  pictures 
hung — the  curious  painting  on  the  frames  of  the  mirrors — 
the  brilliant  curtains,  with  their  stiff  and  formal  patterns.  It 
was  not  very  much  like  a  home  as  yet — it  was  more  like  a 
picture  that  had  been  carefully  planned  and  executed  ;  but 
she  knew  how  he  had  thought  of  pleasing  her  in  choosing 
these  things,  and,  without  saying  a  word,  she  took  his  hand 
and  kissed  it.  And  then  she  went  to  one  of  the  three  tall 
French  windows,  and  looked  out  on  the  square.  There, 
between  the  trees,  was  a  space  of  beautiful  soft  green  ;  and 
some  children,  dressed  in  bright  dresses,  and  attended  by  a 
governess  in  sober  black,  had  just  begun  to  play  croquet.  An 
elderly  lady,  with  a  small  white  dog,  was  walking  along  one 
of  the  gravelled  paths.  An  old  man  was  pruning  some 
bushes. 

"  It  is  very  still  and  quiet  here,"  said  Sheila.  "  I  was 
afraid  we  should  have  to  live  in  that  terrible  noise  always." 

"  I  hope  you  won't  find  it  dull,  my  darling,"  he  said. 

"  Dull,  when  you  are  here  ?  " 

"  But  I  cannot  always  be  here,  you  know  ?  " 

She  looked  up. 

"  You  see,  a  man  is  so  much  in  the  way  if  he  is  dawdling 
about  a  house  all  day  long.  You  would  begin  to  regard  me 
as  a  nuisance,  Sheila  ;  and  would  be  for  sending  me  out  to 
play  croquet  with  those  young  Broughtons  merely  that  you 
might  get  the  rooms  dusted.  Besides,  you  know,  I  couldn't 
work  here— I  must  have  a  studio  of  some  sort  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, of  course.  And  then  you  will  give  me  your  orders 
in  the  morning  as  to  when  I  am  to  come  round  for  luncheon 
or  dinner." 

"  And  you  will  be  alone  all  day  at  your  work  ?  " 

"Yes." 


FAIRY-LAND  165 

"  Then  I  will  come  and  sit  with  you,  my  poor  boy,"  she 
said. 

"  Much  work  I  should  do  in  that  case  !  "  he  said.  "  But 
we'll  see.  In  the  meantime  go  upstairs  and  get  your  things 
off ;  that  young  person  below  has  breakfast  ready,  I  daresay." 

"  But  you  have  not  shown  me  yet  where  Mr.  Ingram 
lives,"  said  Sheila,  before  she  went  to  the  door. 

"  Oh,  that  is  miles  away.  You  have  only  seen  a  little  bit 
of  London  yet.  Ingram  lives  about  as  far  away  from  here 
as  the  distance  you  have  just  come,  but  in  another  direction." 

"  It  is  like  a  world  made  of  houses,"  said  Sheila,  "  and  all 
filled  with  strangers.  But  you  will  take  me  to  see  Mr. 
Ingrain  ?  " 

"  By  and  by,  yes.  But  he  is  sure  to  drop  in  on  you  as 
soon  as  he  fancies  you  are  settled  in  your  new  home." 

And  here,  at  last,  was  Mr.  Ingram  come  ;  and  the  mere 
sound  of  his  voice  seemed  to  carry  her  back  to  Borva,  so  that, 
in  talking  to  him  and  waiting  on  him  as  of  old,  she  would 
scarcely  have  been  surprised  if  her  father  had  walked  in  to 
say  that  a  coaster  was  making  for  the  harbour,  or  that  Dun- 
can was  going  over  to  Stornoway,  and  Sheila  should  have  to 
give  him  commissions.  Her  husband  did  not  take  the  same 
interest  in  the  social  and  political  affairs  of  Borva  that  Mr. 
Ingram  did.  Lavender  had  made  a  pretence  of  assisting 
Sheila  in  her  work  among  the  poor  people ;  but  the  effort 
was  a  hopeless  failure.  He  could  not  remember  the  name  of 
the  family  that  wanted  a  new  boat ;  and  was  visibly  im- 
patient when  Sheila  would  sit  down  to  write  out,  for  some 
aged  crone,  a  letter  to  her  grandson  in  Canada.  Now 
Ingram,  for  the  mere  sake  of  occupation,  had  qualified  him- 
self during  his  various  visits  to  Lewis  so  that  he  might 
have  become  the  Home  Minister  of  the  King  of  Borva  ;  and 
Sheila  was  glad  to  have  one  attentive  listener  as  she  de- 
scribed all  the  wonderful  things  that  had  happened  in  the 
island  since  the  previous  summer. 

But  Ingram  had  got  a  full  and  complete  holiday  on  which 
to  come  up  and  see  Sheila  ;  and  he  had  brought  with  him 
the  wild  and  startling  proposal  that,  in  order  that  she  should 
take  her  first  plunge  into  the  pleasures  of  civilized  life,  her 
husband  and  herself  should  drive  down  to  Richmond  and 
dine  at  the  Star  and  Garter. 


166  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

•  "  What  is  that  ?  "  said  Sheila. 

"My  dear  girl,"  said  her  husband,  seriously,  "your 
ignorance  is  something  fearful  to  contemplate  ;  it  is  quite 
bewildering.  How  can  a  person  who  does  not  know  what 
the  Star  and  Garter  is  be  told  what  the  Star  and  Garter  is  ?  " 

"  But  I  am  willing  to  go  and  see,"  said  Sheila. 

"  Then  I  must  look  after  getting  a  brougham,"  said 
Lavender,  rising. 

"  A  brougham  on  such  a  day  as  this  ?  "  exclaimed  Ingram. 
"  Nonsense  !  get  an  open  trap  of  some  sort — and  Sheila,  just 
to  please  me,  will  put  on  that  very  blue  dress  she  used  to 
were  in  Borva,  and  the  hat  and  the  white  feather,  if  she 
has  got  it " 

"  Perhaps  you  would  like  me  to  put  on  a  sealskin  cap  and 
a  red  handkerchief  instead  of  a  collar,"  observed  Lavender 
calmly. 

"  You  may  do  as  you  please.  Sheila  and  I  are  going  to 
dine  at  the  Star  and  Garter." 

"  May  I  put  on  that  blue  dress  ?  "  said  the  girl,  going  up 
to  her  husband. 

"  Yes,  of  course,  if  you  like,"  said  Lavender,  meekly,  going 
off  to  order  the  carriage,  and  wondering  by  what  route  he 
could  drive  those  two  maniacs  down  to  Richmond  so  that 
none  of  his  friends  should  see  them. 

When  he  came  back  again,  bringing  with  him  a  landau 
which  could  be  shut  up  for  the  homeward  journey  at  night, 
he  had  to  confess  that  no  costume  seemed  to  suit  Sheila  so 
well  as  the  rough  sailor-dress  ;  and  he  was  so  pleased  with 
her  appearance  that  he  consented  at  once  to  let  Bras  go  with 
them  in  the  carriage,  on  condition  that  Sheila  should  be  re- 
sponsible for  him.  Indeed,  after  the  first  shiver  of  driving 
away  from  the  Square  was  over,  he  forgot  that  there  was 
much  unusual  about  the  look  of  this  odd  pleasure-party.  If 
you  had  told  him,  eighteen  months  before,  that  on  a  bright 
day  in  May,  just  as  people  were  going  home  from  the  Park 
for  luncheon,  he  would  go  for  a  drive  in  a  hired  trap  with 
one  horse,  his  companions  being  a  man  with  a  brown  wide- 
awake, a  girl  dressed  as  though  she  were  the  owner  of  a 
yacht,  and  an  immense  deerhound,  and  that  in  this  fashion 
he  would  dare  to  drive  up  to  the  Star  and  Garter  and  order 
dinner,  he  would  have  bet  five  hundred  to  one  that  such  a 


FAIRY-LAND  167 

thing  would  never  occur  so  long  as  he  preserved  his  senses. 
But  somehow  he  did  not  mind  much.  He  was  very  much 
at  home  with  those  two  people  beside  him  ;  the  day  was 
bright  arid  fresh ;  the  horse  went  a  good  pace ;  and  once 
they  were  over  Hammersmith  Bridge,  and  out  among  fields 
and  trees,  the  country  looked  exceedingly  pretty,  and  all  the 
beauty  of  it  was  mirrored  in  Sheila's  eyes. 

"  I  can't  quite  make  you  out  in  that  dress,  Sheila,"  he 
said.  "  I  am  not  sure  whether  it  is  real  and  business-like, 
or  a  theatrical  costume.  I  have  seen  girls  on  Ryde  Pier  with 
something  of  the  same  sort  on,  only  a  good  deal  more  pro- 
nounced, you  know — and  they  looked  like  sham  yachtsmen  ; 
and  I  have  seen  stewardesses  wearing  that  colour  and 
texture  of  cloth " 

"  But  why  not  leave  it  as  it  is,"  said  Ingram,  "  a  solitary 
costume  produced  by  certain  conditions  of  climate  and  duties, 
acting  in  conjunction  with  a  natural  taste  for  harmonious 
colouring  and  simple  form  ?  That  dress,  I  will  maintain, 
sprang  as  naturally  from  the  salt  sea  as  Aphrodite  did  ;  and 
the  man  who  suspects  artifice  in  it,  or  invention,  has  had  his 
mind  perverted  by  the  scepticism  of  modern  society " 

"  Is  my  dress  so  very  wonderful  ?  "  said  Sheila  with  a 
grave  complaisance.  "  I  am  pleased  that  the  Lewis  has  pro- 
duced such  a  fine  thing,  and  perhaps  you  would  like  me  to 
tell  you  its  history.  It  was  my  papa  bought  a  piece  of  blue 
serge  in  Stornoway.  It  cost  3s.  6d.  a  yard,  and  a  dressmaker 
in  Stornoway  cut  it  for  me,  and  I  made  it  myself.  That  is 
all  the  history  of  the  wonderful  dress." 

Suddenly  Sheila  seized  her  husband's  arm.  They  had  got 
down  to  the  river  by  Mortlake ;  and  there,  on  the  broad 
bosom  of  the  stream,  a  long  and  slender  boat  was  shooting 
by,  pulled  by  four  oarsmen  clad  in  white  flannel. 

"  How  can  they  go  out  in  such  a  boat  ?  "  said  Sheila,  with 
a  great  alarm  visible  in  her  eyes  :  "  it  is  scarcely  a  boat  at 
all ;  and  if  they  touch  a  rock,  or  if  the  wind  catches 
them " 

"  Don't  be  frightened,  Sheila,"  said  her  husband.  "  They 
are  quite  safe.  There  are  no  rocks  in  our  rivers  ;  and  the 
wind  does  not  give  us  squalls  here  like  those  on  Loch  Roag. 
You  will  see  hundreds  of  those  boats  by  and  by,  and  perhaps 
you  yourself  will  go  out  in  one " 


j68  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Oh,  never,  never  !  "  she  said,  ahnost  with  a  shudder. 

"  Why,  if  the  people  here  heard  you,  they  would  not  know 
how  brave  a  sailor  you  are.  You  are  not  afraid  to  go  out 
at  night  by  yourself  on  the  sea ;  and  you  won't  go  on  a 
smooth  inland  river " 

"  But  those  boats — if  you  touch  them  they  must  go  over." 

She  seemed  glad  to  get  away  from  the  river.  She  could 
not  be  persuaded  of  the  safety  of  the  slender  craft  of  the 
Thames  ;  and,  indeed,  for  some  time  after  seemed  so  strangely 
depressed  that  Lavender  begged  and  prayed  of  her  to  tell 
him  what  was  the  matter.  It  was  simple  enough.  She  had 
heard  him  speak  of  his  boating  adventures.  Was  it  in  such 
boats  as  that  she  had  just  seen  ?  and  might  he  not  be  some 
day  going  out  in  one  of  them,  and  an  accident — the  breaking 
of  an  oar — a  gust  of  wind — — 

There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  reassure  her  by  a  solemn 
promise  that  in  no  circumstance  whatever  would  he,  Lavender, 
go  into  a  boat  without  her  express  permission  ;  whereupon 
Sheila  was  as  grateful  to  him  as  though  he  had  dowered  her 
with  a  kingdom. 

This  was  not  the  Richmond  Hill  of  her  fancy — this  spacious 
height,  with  its  great  mansions,  its  magnificent  elms,  and  its 
view  of  all  the  westward  and  wooded  country,  with  the  blue- 
white  streak  of  the  river  winding  through  the  green  foliage. 
Where  was  the  farm  ?  The  famous  Lass  of  Richmond  Hill 
must  have  lived  on  a  farm  ;  but  here,  surely,  were  the  houses 
of  great  lords  and  nobles,  which  had  apparently  been  there 
for  years  and  years.  And  was  this  really  an  hotel  that  they 
stopped  at — this  great  building,  that  she  could  only  compare 
to  Stornoway  Castle  ? 

"  Now,  Sheila,"  said  Lavender,  after  they  had  ordered 
dinner  and  gone  out,  "  mind  you  keep  a  tight  hold  on  that 
leash,  for  Bras  will  see  strange  things  in  the  Park." 

"  It  is  I  who  will  see  strange  things,"  she  said  ;  and  the 
prophecy  was  amply  fulfilled.  For  as  they  Avent  along  the 
broad  path,  and  came  better  into  view  of  the  splendid  undu- 
lations of  woodland,  and  pasture,  and  fern  ;  when,  on  the  one 
hand,  they  saw  the  Thames,  far  below  them,  flowing  through 
the  green  and  spacious  valley,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  caught 
some  dusky  glimpse  of  the  far  white  houses  of  London — it 
seemed  to  her  that  she  had  got  into  a  new  world,  and  that 


FAIRY-LAND  169 

this  world  was  far  more  beautiful  than  the  great  city  she 
had  left.  She  did  not  care  so  much  for  the  famous  view 
Vfrom  the  Hill.  She  had  cast  one  quick  look  to  the  horizon 
with  a  throb  of  expectation  that  the  sea  might  be  there. 
There  was  no  sea  there  ;  only  the  faint  blue  of  long  lines  of 
country  apparently  without  limit.  Moreover,  over  the  western 
landscape  a  faint  haze  prevailed,  that  increased  in  the  distance 
and  softened  down  the  more  distant  woods  into  a  sober  grey. 
That  great  extent  of  wooded  plain,  lying  sleepily  in  its  pale 
mists,  was  not  so  cheerful  as  the  scene  around  her,  where  the 
sunlight  was  sharp  and  clear,  the  air  fresh,  the  trees  flooded 
with  a  pure  and  bright  colour.  Here,  indeed,  was  a  cheer- 
ful and  beautiful  world ;  and  she  was  full  of  curiosity  to 
know  all  about  it  and  its  strange  features.  "What  was  the 
name  of  this  tree,  and  how  did  it  differ  from  that  ?  Were 
not  these  rabbits  over  by  the  fence  ;  and  did  rabbits  Live 
in  the  midst  of  trees  and  bushes  ?  What  sort  of  wood  was 
the  fence  made  of ;  and  was  it  not  terribly  expensive  to  have 
such  a  protection  ?  Could  he  not  tell  the  cost  of  a  wooden 
fence  ?  Why  did  they  not  use  wire  netting  ?  Was  not 
that  a  loch  away  down  there,  and  what  was  its  name  ?  A 
loch  without  a  name  ?  Did  the  salmon  come  up  to  it ;  and 
did  any  sea-birds  ever  come  inland  and  build  their  nests  on 
its  margin  ? 

"  Oh,  Bras,  you  must  come  and  look  at  the  loch.  It  is  a 
long  time  since  you  will  see  a  loch." 

And  away  she  went  through  the  thick  breckan,  holding  on 
to  the  swaying  leash  that  held  the  galloping  greyhound,  and 
running  as  swiftly  as  though  she  had  been  making  down  for 
the  shore  to  get  out  the  Maighdean-mhara. 

"  Sheila,"  caUed  her  husband,  "  don't  be  foolish  ! " 

"  Sheila  !  "  called  Ingram,  "  have  pity  on  an  old  man " 

Suddenly  she  stopped.  A  brace  of  partridges  had  suddenly 
sprung  up  at  some  little  distance,  and,  with  a  wild  whirr  of 
their  wings,  where  now  directing  their  low  and  rapid  flight 
towards  the  bottom  of  the  valley. 

"  What  birds  are  those  ?  "  she  said,  peremptorily. 

She  took  no  notice  of  the  fact  that  her  companions  were 
pretty  nearly  too  blown  to  speak.  There  was  a  brisk  life 
and  colour  in  her  face  ;  and  all  her  attention  was  absorbed 
in  watching  the  flight  of  the  birds.  Lavender  fancied  he 


170  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

saw  in  the  fixed  and  keen  look  something  of  old  Mackenzie's 
grey  eye — it  was  the  first  trace  of  a  likeness  to  her  father  he 
had  seen. 

"  You  bad  girl,"  he  said,  "  they  are  partridges." 

She  paid  no  heed  to  this  reproach  ;  for  what  were  those 
other  things  over  there  underneath  the  trees?  Bras  had 
pricked  up  his  ears,  and  there  was  a  strange  excitement  in 
his  look  and  in  his  trembling  frame. 

"  Deer  ! "  she  cried,  with  her  eyes  as  fixed  as  were  those 
of  the  dog  beside  her. 

"  Well,"  said  her  husband,  calmly,  "  what  although  they 
are  deer  ?  " 

"  But  Bras "  she  said  ;  and  with  that  she  caught  the 

leash  with  both  her  hands. 

"  Bras  won't  mind  them,  if  you  keep  him  quiet.  I  sup- 
pose you  can  manage  him  better  than  I  can.  I  wish  we  had 
brought  a  whip." 

"  I  would  rather  let  him  kill  every  deer  in  the  Park  than 
touch  him  with  a  whip,"  said  Sheila,  proudly. 

"  You  fearful  creature,  you  don't  know  what  you  say. 
That  is  high  treason.  If  George  Ranger  heard  you,  he 
would  have  you  hanged  in  front  of  the  Star  and  Garter." 

"  Who  is  George  Ranger  ?  "  said  Sheila,  with  an  air  as  if 
she  had  said,  "  Do  you  know  that  I  am  the  daughter  of  the 
King  of  Borva,  and  whoever  touches  me  will  have  to  answer 
to  my  papa,  ivho  is  not  afraid  of  any  George  Ranger" 

"  He  is  a  great  lord,  who  hangs  all  persons  who  disturb  the 
deer  in  this  Park." 

"  But  why  do  they  not  go  away  ?  "  said  Sheila,  impatiently. 
"  I  have  never  seen  any  deer  so  stupid.  It  is  their  own 
fault  if  they  are  disturbed  ;  why  do  they  remain  so  near  to 
people  and  to  houses  ?  " 

"  My  dear  child,  if  Bras  weren't  here,  you  would  probably 
find  some  of  those  deer  coming  up  to  see  if  you  had  any  bits 
of  sugar  or  pieces  of  bread  about  your  pockets." 

"  Then  they  are  like  sheep,  they  are  not  like  deer,"  she 
said  with  some  contempt.  "  If  I  could  only  tell  Bras  that  it 
is  sheep  he  will  be  looking  at,  he  would  not  look  any  more. 
And  so  small  they  are  ;  they  are  as  small  as  the  roe  ;  but 
they  have  horns  as  big  as  many  of  the  red  deer,  Po  the 
people  eat  them  ?  " 


FAIRY-LAND  Vji 

"  I  suppose  so." 

"  And  what  will  they  cost  ?  " 

"  I  am  sure  I  can't  tell  you." 

"  Are  they  as  good  as  the  roe  or  the  big  deer  ?  " 

"I  don't  know  that  either.  I  don't  think  I  ever  ate 
fallow-deer.  But,  you  know,  they  are  not  kept  here  for  that 
purpose.  A  great  many  gentlemen  in  this  country  keep  a 
lot  of  them  in  their  parks,  merely  to  look  pretty.  They  cost 
a  great  deal  more  than  they  produce " 

"  They  must  eat  up  a  great  deal  of  fine  grass,"  said  Sheila, 
almost  sorrowfully.  "It  is  a  beautiful  ground  for  sheep — 
no  rushes,  no  peat-moss,  only  fine,  good  grass,  and  dry  land, 
I  should  like  my  papa  to  see  all  this  beautiful  ground." 

"  I  fancy  he  has  seen  it." 

"  Was  my  papa  here  ?  " 

"  I  think  he  said  so." 

"  And  did  he  see  those  deer  ?  " 

"  Doubtless." 

"  He  never  told  me  of  them,"  she  said,  wondering  that  her 
papa  had  seen  all  these  strange  things  without  speaking  of 
them. 

By  this  time  they  had  pretty  nearly  got  down  to  the  little 
lake  ;  and  Bras  had  been  alternately  coaxed  and  threatened 
into  a  quiescent  mood.  Sheila  evidently  expected  to  hear  a 
flapping  of  sea-fowls'  wings  when  they  got  near  the  margin  ; 
and  looked  all  round  for  the  first  sudden  dart  from  the  banks. 
But  a  dead  silence  prevailed  ;  and  as  there  were  neither  fish 
nor  birds  to  watch,  she  went  along  to  a  wooden  bench,  and 
sat  down  there,  one  of  her  companions  on  each  hand.  It  was 
a  pretty  scene  that  lay  before  her — the  small  stretch  of  water 
ruffled  with  the  wind,  but  showing  a  dash  of  blue  sky  here 
and  there — the  trees  in  the  inclosure  beyond  clad  in  their 
summer  foliage,  the  smooth  greensward  shining  in  the  after- 
noon sunlight.  Here,  at  least,  was  absolute  quiet  after  the 
roar  of  London  ;  and  it  was  somewhat  wistfully  that  she 
asked  her  husband  how  far  this  place  was  from  her  home, 
and  whether,  when  he  was  at  work,  she  could  not  come  down 
here  by  herself. 

"  Certainly,"  he  said,  never  dreaming  that  she  would  think 
of  doing  such  a  thing. 

By  and  by  they  returned  to  the  hotel ;  and  while  they  sat 


173  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

at  dinner  a  great  fire  of  sunset  spread  over  the  west ;  and 
the  far  woods  became  of  a  rich  purple,  streaked  here  and 
there  with  lines  of  pale  white  mist.  The  river  caught  the 
glow  of  the  crimson  clouds  above,  and  shone  duskily  red 
amid  the  dark  green  of  the  trees.  Deeper!  and  deeper  grew 
the  colour  of  the  sun  as  it  sank  to  the  horizon,  until  it  dis- 
appeared behind  one  low  bar  of  purple  cloud  ;  and  then  the 
wild  glow  in  the  west  slowly  faded  away  ;  the  river  became 
pallid  and  indistinct ;  the  white  mists  over  the  distant  woods 
seemed  to  grow  denser  ;  and  then,  as  here  and  there  a  lamp 
was  lit  far  down  in  the  valley,  one  or  two  pale  stars  appeared 
in  the  sky  overhead,  and  the  night  came  on  apace. 

"  It  is  so  strange,"  Sheila  said, "  to  find  the  darkness 
coming  on,  and  not  to  hear  the  sound  of  the  waves.  I  wonder 
if  it  is  a  fine  night  at  Borva." 

Her  husband  went  over  to  her,  and  led  her  back  to  the 
table,  where  the  candles,  shining  over  the  white  cloth  and 
the  coloured  glasses,  offered  a  more  cheerful  picture  than  the 
darkening  landscape  outside.  They  were  in  a  private  room  ; 
so  that,  when  dinner  was  over,  Sheila  was  allowed  to  amuse 
herself  with  the  fruit,  while  her  two  companions  lit  their 
cigars.  Where  was  the  quaint  old  piano,  now  ;  and  the 
glass  of  hot  whisky  and  water ;  and  the  "  Lament  of 
Monaltrie,"  or  "  Love  in  thine  eyes  for  ever  plays  "  ?  It 
seemed,  but  for  the  greatness  of  the  room,  to  be  a  repetition 
of  one  of  those  evenings  at  Borva  that  now  belonged  to  a  far- 
off  past.  Here  was  Sheila,  not  minding  the  smoke,  listening 
to  Ingram  as  of  old,  and  sometimes  saying  something  in  that 
sweetly-inflected  speech  of  hers  ;  here  was  Ingram,  talking, 
as  it  were,  out  of  a  brown  study,  and  morosely  objecting  to 
pretty  nearly  everything  Lavender  said,  but  always  ready  to 
prove  Sheila  right ;  and  Lavender  himself,  as  unlike  a 
married  man  as  ever,  talking  impatiently,  impetuously,  and 
wildly,  except  at  such  times  as  he  said  something  to  his 
young  wife,  and  then  some  brief  smile  and  look,  or  some  pat 
on  the  hand,  said  more  than  words.  But  where,  Sheila  may 
have  thought,  was  the  one  wanting  to  complete  the  group  ? 
Has  he  gone  down  to  Borvabost  to  see  about  the  cargoes  of 
fish  to  be  sent  off  in  the  morning  ?  Perhaps  he  is  talking 
to  Duncan  outside  about  the  cleaning  of  the  guns,  or  making 
up  cartridges  in  the  kitchen  ?  When  Sheila's  attention 


FAIRY-LAND  173 

Wandered  away  from  the  talk  of  her  companions,  she  could 
not  help  listening  for  the  sound  of  the  waves  ;  and  as  there 
was  no  such  message  coming  to  her  from  the  great  and 
wooded  plain  without,  her  fancy  took  her  away  across  that 
mighty  country  she  had  travelled  through,  and  carried  her 
up  to  the  island  of  Loch  Roag,  until  she  almost  fancied  she 
could  smell  the  peat-smoke  in  the  night-air,  and  listen  to  the 
sea,  and  hear  her  father  pacing  up  and  down  the  gravel  out- 
side the  house,  perhaps  thinking  of  her  as  she  was  thinking 
of  him. 

This  little  excursion  to  Richmond  was  long  remembered 
by  these  three.  It  was  the  last  of  their  meetings  before 
Sheila  was  ushered  into  the  big  world,  to  busy  herself  with 
new  occupations  and  cares.  It  was  a  pleasant  little  journey 
throughout,  for  as  they  got  into  the  landau  to  drive  back  to 
town,  the  moon  was  shining  high  up  in  the  southern  heavens, 
and  the  air  was  mild  and  fresh,  so  that  they  had  the  carriage 
opened,  and  Sheila,  well  wrapped  up,  lay  and  looked  around 
her  with  a  strange  wonder  and  joy  as  they  drove  underneath 
the  shadow  of  the  trees  and  out  again  into  the  clear  sheen  of 
the  night.  They  saw  the  river,  too,  flowing  smoothly  and 
palely  down  between  its  dark  banks  ;  and  somehow  here  the 
silence  checked  them,  and  they  hummed  no  more  those  duets 
they  used  to  sing  up  at  Borva.  Of  what  were  they  thinking, 
then,  as  they  drove  through  the  silver  night,  along  the  lonely 
road  ?  Lavender,  at  least,  was  rejoicing  at  his  great  good 
fortune  that  he  had  secured  for  ever  to  himself  the  true- 
hearted  girl  who  now  sat  opposite  him,  with  the  moonlight 
touching  her  face  and  hair  ;  and  he  was  laughing  to  himself 
at  the  notion  that  he  did  not  properly  appreciate  her,  or 
understand  her,  or  perceive  her  real  character.  If  not  he, 
who  then  ?  Had  he  not  watched  every  turn  of  her  dis- 
position, every  expression  of  her  wishes,  every  grace  of  her 
manner,  and  look  of  her  eyes  ;  and  was  he  not  overjoyed  to 
find  that  the  more  he  knew  of  her  the1  more  he  loved  her  ? 
Marriage  had  increased,  rather  than  diminished,  the  mystery 
and  wonder  he  had  woven  about  her.  He  was  more  her 
lover  now  than  he  had  been  before  his  marriage.  Who 
could  see  in  her  eyes  what  he  saw  ?  Elderly  folks  can  look 
at  a  girl's  eyes,  and  see  that  they  are  brown,  or  blue,  or  green, 
as  the  case  may  be  ;  but  the  lover  looks  at  them  and  sees  in 


174  A  PRINCESS  OF  TttULE 

them  the  magic  mirror  of  a  hundred  possible  worlds.  How 
can  he  fathom  the  sea  of  dreams  that  lies  there,  or  tell  what 
strange  fancies  and  reminiscences  may  be  involved  in  an 
absent  look  ?  Is  she  thinking  of  starlit  nights  Oh  some 
distant  lake,  or  of  the  old  bygone  days  on  the  hills  ?  All 
her  former  life  is  told  there,  and  yet  but  half -told,  and  he 
longs  to  become  possessed  of  the  beautiful  past  that  she  has 
seen.  Here  is  a  constant  mystery  to  him,  and  there  is  a 
singular  and  wistful  attraction  for  him  in  those  still  deeps 
where  the  thoughts  and  dreams  of  an  innocent  soul  lie  but 
half  revealed.  He  does  not  see  those  things  in  the  eyes  of 
women  he  is  not  in  love  with  ;  but  when,  in  after  years,  he 
is  carelessly  regarding  this  or  the  other  woman,  some  chance 
look — some  brief  and  sudden  turn  of  expression — will  recall 
to  him,  as  with  a  stroke  of  lightning,  all  the  old  wonder- 
time,  and  his  heart  will  go  nigh  to  breaking  to  think  that  he 
has  grown  old,  that  he  has  forgotten  so  much,  and  that  the 
fair,  wild  days  of  romance  and  longing  are  passed  away  for 
ever. 

"  Ingram  thinks  I  don't  understand  you  yet,  Sheila,"  he 
said  to  her,  after  they  had  got  home,  and  their  friend  had 
gone. 

Sheila  only  laughed,  and  said — 

"  I  don't  understand  myself,  sometimes." 

"  Eh  ?  what  ?  "  he  cried.  "  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  I 
have  married  a  conundrum  ?  If  I  have,  I  don't  mean  to 
give  you  up,  any  way  ;  so  you  may  go  and  get  me  a  biscuit, 
and  a  drop  of  the  whisky  we  brought  from  the  North  with 
Us.  For  you  are  a  ministering  angel,  Sheila,  and  not  a 
conundrum  at  all," 

CHAPTER  XL 

THE  FIRST  PLUNGE. 

FRANK  LAVENDER  was  a  good  deal  more  concerned  than  he 
chose  to  show  about  the  effect  that  Sheila  was  likely  to  pro- 
duce on  his  aunt ;  and  when,  at  length,  the  day  arrived  on 
which  the  young  folks  were  to  go  down  to  Kensington  Gore, 
he  had  inwardly  to  confess  that  Sheila  seemed  a  great  deal 
less  perturbed  than  himself.  Her  perfect  calmness  and  self- 


THE  FIRST  PLUNGE  175 

possession  surprised  him.  The  manner  in  which  she  had 
dressed  herself,  with  certain  modifications  which  he  could 
not  help  approving,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  time, 
seemed  to  him  a  miracle  of  dexterity  ;  and  how  had  she 
acquired  the  art  of  looking  at  ease  in  this  attire,  which  was 
much  more  cumbrous  than  that  which  she  had  usually  worn 
in  Borva  ? 

If  Lavender  had  but  known  the  truth,  he  would  have 
begun  to  believe  something  of  what  Ingram  had  vaguely 
hinted.  This  poor  girl  was  looking  towards  her  visit  to 
Kensington  Gore  as  the  most  painful  trial  of  her  life.  While 
she  was  outwardly  calm  and  firm,  and  even  cheerful,  her 
heart  sank  within  her  as  she  thought  of  the  dreaded  inter- 
view. Those  garments  which  she  wore  with  such  an  appear- 
ance of  ease  and  comfort  had  been  the  result  of  many  an 
hour  of  anxiety  ;  for  how  was  she  to  tell,  from  her  husband's 
raillery,  what  colours  the  terrible  old  lady  in  Kensington 
would  probably  like  ?  He  did  not  know  that  every  word  he 
said  in  joke  about  his  aunt's  temper,  her  peevish  ways,  the 
awful  consequences  of  offending  her,  and  so  forth,  were  like 
so  many  needles  stuck  into  the  girl's  heart,  until  she  was 
ready  to  cry  out  to  be  released  from  this  fearful  ordeal. 
Moreover,  as  the  day  came  near,  what  he  could  not  see  in 
her,  she  saw  in  him.  Was  she  likely  to  be  reassured  when 
she  perceived  that  her  husband,  in  spite  of  all  his  fun,  was 
really  anxious ;  and  when  she  knew  that  some  blunder  on 
her  part  might  ruin  him  ?  In  fact,  if  he  had  suspected  for 
a  moment  that  she  was  really  trembling  to  think  of  what 
might  happen,  he  might  have  made  some  effort  to  give  her 
courage.  But  apparently  Sheila  was  as  cool  and  collected 
as  if  she  had  been  going  to  see  John  the  Piper.  He  believed 
she  could  have  gone  to  be  presented  to  the  Queen  without  a 
single  tremor  of  the  heart. 

Still,  he  was  a  man,  and  therefore  bound  to  assume  an  air 
of  patronage. 

"  She  won't  eat  you,  really,"  he  said  to  Sheila,  as  they 
were  driving  in  a  hansom  down  Kensington  Palace  Gardens. 
"  All  you  have  got  to  do  is  to  believe  in  her  theories  of  food. 
She  won't  make  you  a  martyr  to  them.  She  measures  every 
half-ounce  of  what  she  eats  ;  but  she  won't  starve  you  ;  and 
I  am  glad  to  think,  Sheila,  that  you  have  brought  a  re- 


i;6  A  PRINCESS  OF  THUtE 

markably  good  and  sensible  appetite  with  you  from  Lewis. 
Oh,  by  the  way,  take  care  you  say  nothing  against  Marcus 
Aurelius." 

"  I  don't  know  who  he  was,  dear,"  observed  Sheila, 
meekly. 

"  He  was  a  Roman  emperor,  and  a  philosopher.  I  suppose 
it  was  because  he  was  an  emperor  that  he  found  it  easy  to 
be  a  philosopher.  However,  my  aunt  is  awful  nuts  on 
Marcus  Aurelius — I  beg  your  pardon,  you  don't  know  the 
phrase.  My  aunt  makes  Marcus  Aurelius  her  Bible,  and 
she  is  sure  to  read  you  bits  from  him,  which  you  must 
believe,  you  know." 

"  I  will  try,"  said  Sheila,  doubtfully  ;  "  but  if " 

"  Oh,  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  religion.  I  don't  think 
anybody  knows  what  Marcus  Aurelius  means,  so  you  may  as 
well  believe  it.  Ingram  swears  by  him,  but  he  is  always 
full  of  odd  crotchets." 

"  Does  Mr.  Ingram  believe  in  Marcus  Aurelius  ?  "  said 
Sheila,  with  some  accession  of  interest. 

"  Why,  he  gave  my  aunt  the  book  years  ago — confound 
him ! — and  ever  since  she  has  been  a  nuisance  to  her 
friends.  For  my  own  part,  you  know,  I  don't  believe  that 
Marcus  Aurelius  was  quite  such  an  ass  as  Plato.  He  talks 
the  same  sort  of  perpetual  commonplaces,  but  it  isn't  about 
the  True,  and  the  Good,  and  the  Beautiful.  Would  you 
like  me  to  repeat  to  you  one  of  the  Dialogues  of  Plato — 
about  the  immortality  of  Mr.  Cole,  and  the  moral  effect  of 
the  South  Kensington  Museum  ?  " 

"  No,  dear,  I  shouldn't,"  said  Sheila. 

"  You  deprive  yourself  of  a  treat,  but  never  mind.  Here 
we  are  at  my  aunt's  house." 

Sheila  timidly  glanced  at  the  place,  while  her  husband 
paid  the  cabman.  It  was  a  tall,  narrow,  dingy-looking 
house  of  a  dark  brick,  with  some  black-green  ivy  at  the  foot 
of  the  walls,  and  with  crimson  curtains  formally  arranged  in 
every  one  of  the  windows.  If  Mrs.  Lavender  was  a  rich  old 
lady,  why  did  she  live  in  such  a  gloomy  building  ?  Sheila 
had  seen  beautiful  white  houses  in  all  parts  of  London — 
her  own  house,  for  example,  was  ever  so  much  more  cheerful 
than  this  one  ;  and  yet  she  had  heard  with  awe  of  the  value 
of  this  depressing  little  mansion  in  Kensington  Gore. 


THE  FIRST  PLUNGE  177 

The  door  was  opened  by  a  man,  who  showed  them  up 
stairs,  and  announced  their  names.  Sheila's  heart  beat 
quickly.  She  entered  the  drawing-room  with  a  sort  of  mist 
before  her  eyes  ;  and  found  herself  going  forward  to  a  lady 
who  sat  at  the  further  end.  She  had  a  strangely  vivid 
impression,  amid  all  her  alarm,  that  this  old  lady  looked 
like  the  withered  kernel  of  a  nut.  Or  was  she  not  like 
a  cockatoo  ?  It  was  through  no  anticipation  of  dislike  to 
Mrs.  Lavender  that  the  imagination  of  the  girl  got  hold  of 
that  notion.  But  the  little  old  lady  held  her  head  like  a 
cockatoo.  She  had  the  hard,  staring,  observant,  and  un- 
impressionable eyes  of  a  cockatoo.  What  was  there,  more- 
over, about  the  decorations  of  her  head  that  reminded  one 
of  a  cockatoo  when  it  puts  up  its  crest  and  causes  its  feathers 
to  look  like  sticks  of  celery  ? 

"  Aunt  Lavender,  this  is  my  wife." 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  dear,"  said  the  old  lady,  giving 
her  hand,  but  not  rising.  "  Sit  down.  When  you  are  a 
little  nervous,  you  ought  to  sit  down.  Frank,  give  me  that 
ammonia  from  the  mantelpiece." 

It  was  in  a  small  glass  phial,  and  labelled  "  Poison." 
She  smelt  the  stopper,  and  then  handed  it  to  Sheila,  telling 
her  to  do  the  same. 

"  Why  did  your  maid  do  your  hair  in  such  a  way  ?  "  she 
asked,  suddenly. 

"  I  haven't  got  a  maid,"  said  Sheila,  "  and  I  always  do 
my  hair  so." 

"  Don't  be  offended.  I  like  it.  But  you  must  not  make 
a  fool  of  yourself.  Your  hair  is  too  much  that  of  a  country 
beauty  going  to  a  ball.  Paterson  will  show  you  how  to  do 
your  hair." 

"  Oh,  I  say,  aunt,"  cried  Lavender,  with  a  fine  show  of 
carelessness,  "  you  mustn't  go  and  spoil  her  hair.  I  think 
it  is  very  pretty  as  it  is  ;  and  that  woman  of  yours  would 
simply  go  and  make  a  mop  of  it.  You'd  think  the  girls 
now-a-days  dressed  their  hair  by  shoving  their  head  into  a 
furze-bush  and  giving  it  a  couple  of  turns." 

She  paid  no  heed  to  him,  but  turned  to  Sheila,  and  said — 

"  You  are  an  only  child  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Why  did  you  leave  your  father  ?  " 

ir 


178  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

The  question  was  rather  a  cruel  one,  and  it  stung  Sheila 
into  answering  bravely — 

"  Because  my  husband  wished  me." 

"  Oh.  You  think  your  husband  is  to  be  the  first  law  of 
your  life  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  do." 

"  Even  when  he  is  only  silly  Frank  Lavender  1 " 

Sheila  rose.  There  was  a  quivering  of  her  lips,  but  no 
weakness  in  the  proud,  indignant  look  of  her  eyes. 

"  What  you  may  say  of  me,  that  I  do  not  care.  But  I 
will  not  remain  to  hear  my  husband  insulted." 

"Sheila,"  said  Lavender,  vexed  and  anxious,  and  yet 
pleased  at  the  same  time  by  the  courage  of  the  girl. 
"  Sheila,  it  is  only  a  joke — you  must  not  mind — it  is  only 
a  bit  of  fun " 

"  I  do  not  understand  such  jests,"  she  said,  calmly. 

"  Sit  down,  like  a  good  girl,"  said  the  old  lady,  with  an 
air  of  absolute  indifference.  "  I  did  not  mean  to  offend  you. 
Sit  down,  and  be  quiet.  You  will  destroy  your  nervous 
system  if  you  give  way  to  such  impulses.  I  think  you  are 
healthy  ;  I  like  the  look  of  you  ;  but  you  will  never  reach 
a  good  age,  as  I  hope  to  do,  except  by  moderating  your 
passions.  That  is  well ;  now  take  the  ammonia  again,  and 
give  it  to  me.  You  don't  wish  to  die  young,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  dying,"  said  Sheila. 

"  Eing  the  bell,  Frank." 

He  did  so,  and  a  tall,  spare,  grave-faced  woman  appeared. 

"  Paterson,  you  must  put  luncheon  on  to  two  ten.  I 
ordered  it  at  one  fifty,  did  I  not  ?  " 

"Yes,  m'm."_ 

"  See  that  it  is  served  at  two  ten ;  and  take  this  young 
lady  and  get  her  hair  properly  done — you  understand  ?  My 
nephew  and  I  will  wait  luncheon  for  her." 

"Yes,  m'm." 

"  Sheila  rose,  with  a  great  swelling  in  her  throat.  All 
her  courage  had  ebbed  away.  She  had  reflected  how  pained 
her  husband  would  be  if  she  did  not  please  this  old  lady  ; 
and  she  was  now  prepared  to  do  anything  she  was  told,  to 
receive  meekly  any  remarks  that  might  be  made  to  her,  to 
be  quite  obedient,  and  gentle,  and  submissive.  But  what 
was  this  tall  and  terrible  woman  going  to  do  to  her  ?  Did 


THE  FIRST  PLUNGE  179 

she  really  mean  to  cut  away  those  great  masses  of  hair  to 
which  Mrs.  Lavender  had  objected  ?  Sheila  would  have  let  her 
hair  be  cut  willingly,  for  her  husband's  sake ;  but,  as  she  went 
to  the  door,  some  wild  and  despairing  notion  came  into  her 
head  of  what  her  husband  might  think  of  her,  when  once  she 
was  shorn  of  this  beautiful  personal  feature.  Would  he  look 
at  her  with  surprise — perhaps  even  with  disappointment  ? 

'•  Mind  you  don't  keep  luncheon  late,"  he  said  to  her,  as 
she  passed  him. 

She  but  indistinctly  heard  him,  so  great  was  the  trembling 
within  her.  Her  father  would  scarcely  know  his  altered 
Sheila,  when  she  went  back  to  Borva  ;  and  what  would 
Mairi  say — Mairi  who  had  many  a  time  helped  her  to 
arrange  those  long  tresses,  and  who  was  as  proud  of  them 
as  if  they  were  her  own  ?  She  followed  Mrs.  Lavender's 
tall  maid  up  stairs.  She  entered  a  small  dressing-room, 
and  glanced  nervously  around.  Then  she  suddenly  turned, 
looked  for  a  moment  at  the  woman,  and  said,  with  tears 
rushing  up  into  her  eyes — 

"  Does  Mrs.  Lavender  wish  me  to  cut  my  hair  ?  " 

The  woman  regarded  her  with  astonishment. 

"  Cut,  miss  ? — ma'am,  I  beg  your  pardon.  No,  ma'am, 
not  at  all.  I  suppose  it  is  only  some  difference  in  the 
arrangement,  ma'am.  Mrs.  Lavender  is  very  particular 
about  the  hair  ;  and  she  has  asked  me  to  show  several  ladies 
how  to  dress  their  hair  in  the  way  she  likes.  But  perhaps 
you  would  prefer  letting  it  remain  as  it  is,  ma'am  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  not  at  all !  "  said  Sheila.  "  I  should  like  to  have 
it  just  as  Mrs.  Lavender  wishes — in  every  way  just  as  she 
wishes.  Only,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  cut  any  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  miss — ma'am  ;  and  it  would  be  a  great  pity,  if 
I  may  say  so,  to  cut  your  hair." 

Sheila  was  pleased  to  hear  that.  Here  was  a  woman  who 
had  a  large  experience  in  such  matters,  among  those  very 
ladies  of  her  husband's  social  circle  whom  she  had  been  a 
little  afraid  to  meet.  Mrs.  Paterson  seemed  to  admire  her 
hair  as  much  as  the  simple  Mairi  had  done  ;  and  Sheila 
soon  began  to  have  less  fear  of  this  terrible  tiring-woman, 
who  forthwith  proceeded  with  her  task. 

The  young  wife  went  down  stairs  with  a  tower  upon  her 
head.  She  was  very  uncomfortable*  She  had  seen,  it  is 

N  2 


i8o  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

true,  that  this  method  of  dressing  the  hair  really  became  her 
— or,  rather,  would  become  her  in  certain  circumstances. 
It  was  grand,  imposing,  statuesque  ;  but  then  she  did  not 
feel  statuesque  just  at  this  moment.  She  could  have 
dressed  herself  to  suit  this  style  of  hair ;  she  could  have 
worn  it  with  confidence  if  she  had  got  it  up  herself  ;  but 
here  she  was  the  victim  of  an  experiment — she  felt  like  a 
schoolgirl  about  for  the  first  time  to  appear  in  public  in  a 
long  dress — and  she  was  terribly  afraid  her  husband  would 
laugh  at  her.  If  he  had  any  such  inclination,  he  courteously 
suppressed  it.  He  said  the  massive  simplicity  of  this  dress- 
ing of  her  hair  suited  her  admirably.  Mrs.  Lavender  said 
that  Paterson  was  an  invaluable  woman  ;  and  then  they 
went  down  to  the  dining-room  on  the  ground-floor,  where 
luncheon  had  been  laid. 

The  man  who  had  opened  the  door  waited  on  the  two 
strangers  ;  the  invaluable  Paterson  acted  as  a  sort  of  hench- 
woman  to  her  mistress,  standing  by  her  chair,  and  supplying 
her  wants.  She  also  had  the  management  of  a  small  pair 
of  silver  scales,  in  which  pretty  nearly  everything  that  Mrs. 
Lavender  took  in  the  way  of  solid  food  was  carefully  and 
accurately  weighed .  The  conversation  was  chiefly  alimentary ; 
and  Sheila  listened  with  a  growing  wonder  to  the  description 
of  the  devices  by  which  the  ladies  of  Mrs.  Lavender's 
acquaintance  were  wont  to  cheat  fatigue,  or  win  an  appetite, 
or  preserve  their  colour.  When,  by  accident,  the  girl  her- 
self was  appealed  to,  she  had  to  confess  to  an  astonishing 
ignorance  of  all  such  resources.  She  knew  nothing  of  the 
relative  strengths  and  effects  of  wine  ;  though  she  was 
frankly  ready  to  make  any  experiment  her  husband  recom- 
mended. She  knew  what  camphor  was,  but  had  never  heard 
of  bismuth.  On  cross-examination,  she  had  to  admit  that 
Eau  de  Cologne  did  not  seem  to  her  likely  to  be  a  pleasant 
liquor  before  going  to  a  ball.  Did  she  not  know  the  effect 
on  brown  hair  of  washing  it  in  soda-water  every  night  ? 
She  was  equably  confessing  her  ignorance  on  all  such  points, 
when  she  was  startled  by  a  sudden  question  from  Mrs. 
Lavender.  Did  she  know  what  she  was  doing  ? 

She  looked  at  her  plate  ;  there  was  on  it  a  piece  of  cheese 
to  which  she  had  thoughtlessly  helped  herself.  Somebody 
had  called  it  Eoquefort — that  was  all  she  knew. 


THE  FIRST  PLUNGE  181 

"  You  have  as  much  there,  child,  as  would  kill  a  plough- 
man, and  I  suppose  you  would  not  have  had  the  sense  to 
leave  it." 

"  Is  it  poison  ? "  said  Sheila,  regarding  her  plate  with 
horror. 

"  All  cheese  is.     Paterson,  my  scales." 

She  had  Sheila's  plate  brought  to  her,  and  the  proper 
modicum  of  cheese  cut,  weighed  and  sent  back. 

"  Remember,  whatever  house  you  are  at,  never  to  have 
more  Roquefort  than  that." 

"  It  would  be  simpler  to  do  without  it,"  said  Sheila. 

"  It  would  be  simple  enough  to  do  without  a  great  many 
things,"  said  Mrs.  Lavender,  severely.  "  But  the  wisdom 
of  living  is  to  enjoy  as  many  different  things  as  possible,  so 
long  as  you  do  so  in  moderation,  and  preserve  your  health. 
You  arc  young — you  don't  think  of  such  things.  You 
think  because  you  have  good  teeth  and  a  clear  complexion, 
you  can  eat  anything.  But  that  won't  last.  A  time  will 
come.  Do  you  not  know  what  the  great  emperor,  Marcus 
Antoninus,  says  ? — •'  In  a  little  while  thou  wilt  be  nobody  and 
nowhere,  like  Hadrianus  and  Augustus?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Sheila. 

She  had  not  enjoyed  her  luncheon  much — she  would 
rather  have  had  a  ham  sandwich  and  a  glass  of  spring 
water  on  the  side  of  a  Highland  hill,  than  this  varied 
and  fastidious  repast  accompanied  by  a  good  deal  of 
physiology — but  it  was  too  bad  that,  having  successfully 
got  through  it,  she  should  be  threatened  with  annihilation 
immediately  afterwards.  It  was  no  sort  of  consolation  to 
her  to  know  that  she  would  be  in  the  same  plight  with  two 
emperors. 

"  Frank,  you  can  go  and  smoke  a  cigar  in  the  conser- 
vatory, if  you  please.  Your  wife  will  come  up  stairs  with 
me  and  have  a  talk." 

Sheila  would  much  rather  have  gone  into  the  conservatory 
also  ;  but  she  obediently  followed  Mrs.  Lavender  up  stairs 
and  into  the  drawing-room.  It  was  rather  a  melancholy 
chamber — the  curtains  shutting  out  most  of  the  daylight, 
and  leaving  you  in  a  semi-darkness  that  made  the  place  look 
big,  and  vague,  and  spectral.  The  little,  shrivelled  woman, 
with  the  hard  and  staring  eyes  and  silver-grey  hair,  bade 


182 

Sheila  sit  down  beside  her.  She  herself  sat  by  a  small  table, 
on  which  there  were  a  tiny  pair  of  scales,  a  bottle  of 
ammonia,  a  fan,  and  a  book  bound  in  an  old-fashioned 
binding  of  scarlet  morocco  and  gold.  Sheila  wished  this 
old  woman  would  not  look  at  her  so.  She  wished  there 
waa  a  window  open,  or  a  glint  of  sunlight  coming  in 
somewhere.  But  she  was  glad  that  her  husband  was  en- 
joying himself  in  the  conservatory  ;  and  that  for  two 
reasons.  One  of  them  was  that  she  did  not  like  the  tone 
of  his  talk  while  he  and  his  aunt  had  been  conversing 
together  about  cosmetics  and  such  matters.  Not  only  did 
he  betray  a  marvellous  acquaintance  with  such  things,  but 
he  seemed  to  take  an  odd  sort  of  pleasure  in  exhibiting  his 
knowledge.  He  talked  in  a  mocking  way  about  the  tricks 
of  fashionable  women  that  Sheila  did  not  quite  like  :  and  of 
course  she  naturally  threw  the  blame  on  Mrs.  Lavender. 
It  was  only  when  this  old  woman  exerted  a  godless  influence 
over  him  that  her  good  boy  talked  in  such  a  fashion.  There 
was  nothing  of  that  about  him  up  in  Lewis,  nor  yet  at  home, 
in  a  certain  snug  little  smoking-room  which  these  two  had 
come  to  consider  the  most  comfortable  corner  in  the  house. 
Sheila  began  to  hate  women  who  used  lip-salve  ;  and  silently 
recorded  a  vow  that  never,  never,  never  would  she  wear 
anybody's  hair  but  her  own. 

"  Do  you  suffer  from  headache  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Lavender, 
abruptly. 

"  Sometimes,"  said  Sheila. 

"  How  often  ?    What  is  an  average  ?    Two  a  week  ?  " 

"  Oh,  sometimes  I  have  not  a  headache  for  three  or  four 
months  at  a  time." 

"  No  toothache  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  What  did  your  mother  die  of  ?  " 

"  It  was  a  fever,"  said  Sheila,  in  a  low  voice  ;  "  and  sho 
caught  it  while  she  was  helping  a  family  that  was  very  bad 
with  the  fever." 

"  Does  your  father  ever  suffer  from  rheumatism  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Sheila.  "  My  papa  is  the  strongest  man  in 
the  Lewis,  I  am  sure  of  that." 

"  But  the  strongest  of  us,  you  know,"  said  Mrs.  Lavender 
looking  hardly  at  the  girl,  "  the  strongest  of  us  will  die  and 


THE  FIRST  PLUNGE  183 

go  into  the  general  order  of  the  universe  ;  and  it  is  a  good 
thing  for  you  that,  as  you  say,  you  are  not  afraid.  Why 
should  you  be  afraid  ?  Listen  to  this  passage." 

She  opened  the  red  book,  and  guided  herself  to  a  certain 
page  by  one  of  a  series  of  coloured  ribbons. 

"  '  He  ivho  fears  death  either  fears  the  loss  of  sensation  or 
a  different  kind  of  sensation.  But  if  thou  shalt  have  no 
sensation,  neither  wilt  thou  feel  any  harm;  and  if  thou  shalt 
acquire  another  kind  of  sensation,  thou  wilt  be  a  different 
kind  of  living  being,  and  thou  wilt  not  cease  to  live.1  Do  you 
perceive  the  wisdom  of  that  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Sheila  ;  and  her  own  voice  seemed  hollow 
and  strange  to  her  in  this  big  and  dimly-lit  chamber.  Mrs. 
Lavender  turned  over  a  few  more  pages,  and  proceeded  to 
read  again ;  and  as  she  did  so,  in  a  low,  unsympathetic, 
monotonous  voice,  a  spell  came  over  the  girl,  the  weight  at 
her  heart  grew  more  and  more  intolerable,  and  the  room 
seemed  to  grow  darker. 

" '  Short  then  is  the  time  which  every  man  lives,  and  small 
the  nook  of  the  earth  where  he  lives  ;  and  short  too  the  longest 
posthumous  fame,  and  even  this  only  continued  by  a  succession 
of  poor  human  beings,  who  will  very  soon  die,  and  who  know 
not  even  themselves,  much  less  him  who  died  long  ago?  You 
cannot  do  better  than  ask  your  husband  to  buy  you  a  copy 
of  this  book,  and  give  it  special  study.  It  will  comfort  you 
in  affliction,  and  reconcile  you  to  whatever  may  happen  to 
you.  Listen.  '  Soon  will  the  earth  cover  us  all ;  then  the 
earth,  too,  will  change,  and  the  things  also  ivhich  result  from 
change  will  continue  to  change  for  ever,  and  these  again  for 
ever.  For  if  a  man  reflects  on  the  changes  and  transforma- 
tions which .follow  one  another  like  wave  after  wave  and  their 
rapidity,  he  will  despise  everything  tvhich  is  perishable.'1  Do 
you  understand  that  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Sheila ;  and  it  seemed  to  her  that  she  was 
being  suffocated.  Would  not  the  grey  walls  burst  asunder, 
and  show  her  one  glimpse  of  the  blue  sky  before  she  sank 
into  unconsciousness  ?  The  monotonous  tones  of  this  old 
woman's  voice  sounded  like  the  repetition  of  a  psalm  over  a 
coffin.  It  was  as  if  she  was  already  shut  out  from  life,  and 
could  only  hear  in  a  vague  way  the  dismal  words  being 
chanted  over  her  by  the  people  in  the  other  world.  She 


1 84  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

rose,  steadied  herself  for  a  moment  by  placing  her  hand  on 
the  back  of  the  chair,  and  managed  to  say — 

"  Mrs.  Lavender,  forgive  me  for  one  moment ;  I  wish  to 
speak  to  my  husband." 

She  went  to  the  door — Mrs.  Lavender  being  too  surprised 
to  follow  her — and  made  her  way  down  stairs.  She  had 
seen  the  conservatory  at  the  end  of  a  certain  passage.  She 
reached  it ;  and  then  she  scarcely  knew  any  more,  except 
that  her  husband  caught  her  in  his  arms  as  she  cried — • 

"  Oh,  Frank,  Frank,  take  me  away  from  this  house — I 
am  afraid  :  it  terrifies  me  !  " 

"  Sheila,  what  on  earth  is  the  matter  ?  Here,  come  out 
to  the  fresh  air.  By  Jove,  how  pale  you  are !  Will  you 
have  some  water  ?  " 

He  could  not  get  to  understand  thoroughly  what  had 
occurred.  What  he  clearly  did  learn  from  Sheila's  disjointed 
and  timid  explanations  was  that  there  had  been  another 
"  scene,"  and  he  knew  that  of  all  things  in  the  world  his 
aunt  hated  "  scenes  "  the  worst.  As  soon  as  he  saw  that 
there  was  little  the  matter  with  Sheila  beyond  considerable 
mental  perturbation,  he  could  not  help  addressing  some 
little  remonstrance  to  her,  and  reminding  her  how  necessary 
it  was  that  she  should  not  offend  the  old  lady  up  stairs. 

"  You  should  not  be  so  excitable,  Sheila,"  he  said.  "  You 
take  such  exaggerated  notions  about  things.  I  am  sure  my 
aunt  meant  nothing  unkind.  And  what  did  you  say  when 
you  came  away  ?  " 

"  I  said  I  wanted  to  see  you.     Are  you  angry  with  me  ?  " 

"  No,  of  course  not.  '  But  then,  you  see,  it  is  a  little 

vexing — just  at  this  moment .  Well,  let  us  go  up 

stairs  at  once,  and  try  and  make  up  some  excuse,  like  a  good 
girl — say  you  felt  faint — anything " 

"  And  you  will  come  with  me  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Now  do  try,  Sheila,  to  make  friends  with  my 
aunt.  She's  not  such  a  bad  sort  of  creature  as  you  seem  to 
think.  She's  been  very  kind  to  me — she'll  be  very  kind  to 
you  when  she  knows  you  more." 

Fortunately  no  excuse  was  necessary  ;  for  Mrs.  Lavender, 
in  Sheila's  absence,  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the 
girl's  temporary  f  aintness  was  due  to  that  piece  of  Eoquefort. 

"You  see  you  must  be  careful,"  she  said,  when  they 


THE  FIRST  PLUNGE  185 

entered  the  room.  "You  are  unaccustomed  to  a  great 
many  things  you  will  like  afterwards." 

"  And  the  room  is  a  little  close,"  said  Lavender. 

"  I  don't  think  so,"  said  his  aunt,  sharply  ;  "  look  at  the 
thermometer." 

"I  didn't  mean  for  you  and  me,  Aunt  Lavender,"  he 
said,  "  but  for  her.  Sheila  has  been  accustomed  to  live 
almost  wholly  in  the  open  air." 

"  The  open  air,  in  moderation,  is  an  excellent  thing.  I 
go  out  myself  every  afternoon,  wet  or  dry.  And  I  was 
going  to  propose,  Frank,  that  you  should  leave  her  here 
with  me  for  the  afternoon,  and  come  back  and  dine  with  us 
at  seven.  I  am  going  out  at  four  thirty,  and  she  could  go 
with  me." 

"  It's  very  kind  of  you,  Aunt  Lavender  ;  but  we  have 
promised  to  call  on  some  people  close  by  here  at  four." 

Sheila  looked  up  frightened.  The  statement  was  an  auda- 
cious perversion  of  the  truth.  But  then,  Frank  Lavender 
knew  very  well  what  his  aunt  meant  by  going  into  the  open 
air  every  afternoon,  wet  or  dry.  At  a  certain  hour  her 
brougham  was  brought  round  ;  she  got  into  it,  and  had 
both  doors  and  windows  hermetically  sealed  ;  and  then,  in 
a  semi-somnolent  state,  she  was  driven  slowly  and  mono- 
tonously round  the  Park.  How  would  Sheila  fare  if  she 
were  shut  up  in  this  box  ?  He  told  a  He  with  great 
equanimity,  and  saved  her. 

Then  Sheila  was  taken  away  to  get  on  her  things  ;  and 
her  husband  waited,  with  some  little  trepidation,  to  hear 
what  his  aunt  would  say  about  her.  He  had  not  long 
to  wait. 

"  She's  got  a  bad  temper,  Frank." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  think  so,  Aunt  Lavender  ! "  he  said, 
considerably  startled. 

"  Mark  my  words,  she's  got  a  bad  temper  ;  and  she  is 
not  nearly  so  soft  as  she  tries  to  make  out.  That  girl  has 
a  great  deal  of  firmness,  Frank." 

"  I  find  her  as  gentle  and  submissive  as  a  girl  could  be — 
a  little  too  gentle,  perhaps,  and  anxious  to  study  the  wishes 
of  other  folks." 

"  That  is  all  very  well  with  you.  You  are  her  master. 
She  is  not  likely  to  quarrel  with  her  bread  and  butter. 


1 86  A  PRINCESS  OF  TtiUtS 

But  you'll  see  if  she  does  not  hold  her  own  when  she  gets 
among  your  friends." 

"  I  hope  she  will  hold  her  own,"  he  said,  with  some 
unnecessary  emphasis. 

The  old  lady  only  shook  her  head. 

"  I  am  very  sorry  you  should  have  taken  a  prejudice 
against  her,  aunt,"  said  he,  presently. 

"  I  take  a  prejudice  ?  Don't  let  me  hear  the  word  again, 
Frank.  You  know  I  have  no  prejudices.  If  I  cannot 
give  you  a  reason  for  anything  I  believe,  then  I  cease  to 
believe  it." 

"You  have  not  heard  her  sing,"  he  said,  suddenly 
remembering  that  this  means  of  conquering  the  old  lady 
had  been  neglected. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  she  has  many  accomplishments,"  said 
Mrs.  Lavender,  coldly.  "  In  time,  I  suppose,  she  will  get 
over  that  extraordinary  accent  she  has." 

"  Many  people  like  it." 

"  I  dare  say  you  do,  at  present.  But  you  may  tire  of  it. 
You  married  her  in  a  hurry  ;  and  you  have  not  got  rid  of 
your  romance  yet.  At  the  same  time,  I  dare  say  she  is  a 
very  good  sort  of  a  girl,  and  will  not  disgrace  you,  if  you 
instruct  her  and  manage  her  properly.  But  remember  my 
words,  she  has  a  temper,  and  you  will  find  it  out  if  you 
thwart  her." 

How  sweet  and  fresh  the  air  was,  even  in  Kensington, 
when  Sheila,  having  dressed  and  come  down  stairs,  and 
having  dutifully  kissed  Mrs.  Lavender  and  bade  her  good- 
bye, went  outside  with  her  husband.  It  was  like  coming 
back  to  the  light  of  day  from  inside  the  imaginary  coffin  in 
which  she  had  fancied  herself  placed.  A  soft  west  wind 
was  blowing  over  the  Park,  and  a  fairly  clear  sunlight 
shining  on  the  May  green  of  the  trees.  And  then  she 
hung  on  her  husband's  arm ;  and  she  had  him  to  speak 
to  instead  of  the  terrible  old  woman  who  talked  about 
dying. 

And  yet  she  hoped  she  had  not  offended  Mrs.  Lavender, 
for  Frank's  sake.  What  he  thought  about  the  matter  he 
prudently  resolved  to  conceal. 

"  Do  you  know  that  you  have  greatly  pleased  my  aunt  ?  " 
he  said,  without  the  least  compunction.  He  knew  if  he 


breathed  the  least  hint  about  what  had  actually  been  said, 
any  reasonable  amity  between  the  two  women  would  be 
rendered  impossible  for  ever. 

"  Have  I  really  ?  "  said  Sheila,  very  much  astonished, 
but  never  thinking  for  a  moment  of  doubting  anything 
said  by  her  husband. 

"  Oh,  she  likes  you  awfully  !  "  he  said,  with  an  infinite 
coolness. 

"  I  am  so  glad  !  "  said  Sheila,  with  her  face  brightening. 
"  I  was  so  afraid,  dear,  I  had  offended  her.  She  did  not 
look  pleased  with  me." 

By  this  time  they  had  got  into  a  hansom,  and  were 
driving  down  to  the  South  Kensington  Museum.  Lavender 
would  have  preferred  going  into  the  Park  ;  but  what  if  his 
aunt,  in  driving  by,  were  to  see  them  ?  He  explained  to 
Sheila  the  absolute  necessity  of  his  having  to  tell  that  fib 
about  the  four  o'clock  engagement ;  and  when  she  heard 
described  the  drive  in  the  closed  brougham  which  she  had 
escaped,  perhaps  she  was  not  so  greatly  inclined  as  she 
ought  to  have  been  to  protest  against  that  piece  of 
wickedness. 

"  Oh  yes,  she  likes  you  awfully,"  he  repeated,  "  and  you 
must  get  to  like  her.  Don't  be  frightened  by  her  harsh 
way  of  saying  things  ;  it  is  only  a  mannerism.  She  is 
really  a  kind-hearted  woman,  and  would  do  anything  for 
me.  That's  her  best  feature,  looking  at  her  character  from 
my  point  of  view." 

"  How  often  must  we  go  to  see  her  ?  "  asked  Sheila. 

"  Oh,  not  very  often.  But  she  will  get  up  dinner-parties, 
at  which  you  will  be  introduced  to  batches  of  her  friends. 
And  then  the  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  put  yourself 
under  her  instructions,  and  take  her  advice  about  your 
dress  and  such  matters  just  as  you  did  about  your  hair. 
That  was  very  good  of  you." 

"  I  am  glad  you  were  pleased  with  me,"  said  Sheila.  "  I 
will  do  what  I  can  to  like  her.  But  she  must  talk  more 
respectfully  of  you." 

Lavender  laughed  that  little  matter  off  as  a  joke  :  but  it 
was  far  from  being  a  joke  to  Sheila.  She  would  try  to  like 
tluit  old  woman— yes  ;  her  duty  to  her  husband  demanded 
that  she  should.  But  there  are  some  things  which  a  wife — 


188  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

especially  a  girl  who  has  been  newly  made  a  wife — will 
never  forget ;  which,  on  the  contrary,  she  will  remember 
with  burning  cheeks,  and  anger,  and  indignation. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

TRANSFORMATION. 

HAD  she,  then,  Lavender  could  not  help  asking  himself,  a 
bad  temper,  or  any  other  qualities  or  characteristics  which 
were  apparent  to  other  people  but  not  to  him  ?  "Was  it 
possible  that,  after  all,  Ingram  was  right ;  and  that  he  had 
yet  to  learn  the  nature  of  the  girl  he  had  married  ?  It 
would  be  unfair  to  say  that  he  suspected  something  wrong 
about  his  wife — that  he  fancied  she  had  managed  to 
conceal  something — merely  because  Mrs.  Lavender  had 
said  that  Sheila  had  a  bad  temper  ;  but  here  was  another 
person  who  maintained  that,  when  the  days  of  his  romance 
were  over,  he  would  see  the  girl  in  another  light. 

Nay,  as  he  continued  to  ask  himself,  had  not  the  change 
already  begun  ?  He  grew  less  and  less  accustomed  to  see 
in  Sheila  a  beautiful  wild  sea-bird  that  had  fluttered  down, 
for  a  time,  into  a  strange  home  in  the  south.  He  had  not 
quite  forgotten  or  abandoned  those  imaginative  scenes  in 
which  the  wonderful  Sea-Princess  was  to  enter  crowded 
drawing-rooms  and  have  all  the  world  standing  back  to 
regard  her,  and  admire  her,  and  sing  her  praises.  But 
now  he  was  not  so  sure  that  that  would  be  the  result  of 
Sheila's  entrance  into  society.  As  the  date  of  a  certain 
small  dinner-party  drew  near,  he  began  to  wish  she  was 
more  like  the  women  he  knew.  He  did  not  object  to  her 
strange  sweet  ways  of  speech,  nor  to  her  odd  likes  and 
dislikes,  nor  even  to  an  unhesitating  frankness  that  nearly 
approached  rudeness  sometimes  in  its  scorn  of  all  compromise 
with  the  truth  ;  but  how  would  others  regard  these  things  ? 
He  did  not  wish  to  gain  the  reputation  of  having  married 
an  oddity. 

"  Sheila,"  he  said,  on  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which 
they  were  going  to  this  dinner  party,  "  you  should  not  say 
like-a-ness.  There  are  only  two  syllables  in  likeness.  It 
really  does  sound  absurd  to  hear  you  say  UJce-a-ness" 


TRANS  FORMA  TION  \  89 

She  looked  up  to  him,  with  a  quick  trouble  in  her  eyes. 
When  had  he  objected  to  her  manner  of  speaking  before  ? 
And  then  she  cast  down  her  eyes  again,  and  said,  sub- 
missively— 

"  I  will  try  not  to  speak  like  that.  When  you  go  out,  I 
take  a  book  and  read  aloud,  and  try  to  speak  like  you  ;  but 
I  cannot  learn  all  at  once." 

"  /  don't  mind,"  he  said,  in  an  apologetic  fashion  ;  and 
he  took  her  hand  as  if  to  show  that  he  meant  no  unkind- 
ness.  "  But  you  know  other  people  must  think  it  so  odd. 
I  wonder  why  you  should  always  say  gyarden  for  garden 
now,  when  it  is  just  as  easy  to  say  garden" 

Once  upon  a  tune  he  had  said  that  there  was  no  Engh'sh 
like  the  English  spoken  in  Lewis,  and  had  singled  out  this 
very  word  as  typical  of  one  peculiarity  in  the  pronunciation. 
But  Sheila  did  not  remind  him  of  that.  She  only  said,  in 
the  same  simple  fashion, — 

"  If  you  will  tell  me  my  faults,  I  will  try  to  correct 
them." 

She  turned  away  from  him,  to  get  an  envelope  for  a  letter 
she  had  been  writing  to  her  father.  He  fancied  something 
was  wrong,  and  perhaps  some  touch  of  compunction  smote 
him,  for  he  went  after  her,  and  took  her  hand  again,  and 
said,  gently,— 

"  Look  here,  Sheila.  When  I  point  out  any  trifles  like 
that,  you  must  not  call  them  faults,  and  fancy  I  have  any 
serious  complaint  to  make.  It  is  for  your  own  good  that 
you  should  meet  the  people  who  will  be  your  friends  on  equal 
terms,  and  give  them  as  little  as  possible  to  talk  about." 

"  I  should  not  mind  their  talking  about  me,"  said  Sheila, 
with  her  eyes  still  cast  down ;  "  but  it  is  your  wife  they 
must  not  talk  about,  and,  if  you  will  tell  me  anything  I  do 
wrong,  I  will  correct  it." 

"  Oh,  you  must  not  think  it  is  anything  so  serious  as  that. 
You  will  soon  pick  up  from  the  ladies  you  may  meet  some 
notion  of  how  you  differ  from  them ;  and  if  you  should 
startle  or  puzzle  them  a  little  at  first  by  talking  about  the 
chances  of  the  fishing,  or  the  catching  of  wild  duck,  or  the 
way  to  reclaim  bog-land,  you  will  soon  get  over  all  that." 

Sheila  said  nothing  ;  but  she  made  a  mental  memorandum 
of  three  things  she  was  not  to  talk  about.  She  did  not  know 


190  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

why  these  subjects  should  be  forbidden ;  but  she  was  in  a 
strange  land,  and  going  to  see  strange  people,  whose  habits 
were  different  from  hers.  Moreover,  when  her  husband  had 
gone,  she  reflected  that  these  people,  having  no  fishing,  and 
no  peat-mosses,  and  no  wild  duck,  could  not  possibly  be 
interested  in  such  affairs  ;  and  thus  she  fancied  she  perceived 
the  reason  why  she  should  avoid  all  mention  of  those  tilings. 

When,  in  the  evening,  Sheila  came  down  dressed  and 
ready  to  go  out,  Lavender  had  to  admit  to  himself  that  he 
had  married  an  exceedingly  beautiful  girl,  and  that  there 
was  no  country  awkwardness  about  her  manner,  and  no 
placid  insipidity  about  her  proud  and  handsome  face.  For 
one  brief  moment  he  triumphed  in  his  heart,  and  had  some 
wild  glimpse  of  his  old  project  of  startling  his  small  world 
with  this  vision  from  the  northern  seas.  But  when  he 
got  into  the  hired  brougham,  and  thought  of  the  people  he 
was  about  to  meet,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  they  would 
carry  away  such  and  such  impressions  of  the  girl,  he  lost 
faith  in  that  project.  He  would  much  rather  have  had  Sheila 
unnoticeable  and  unnoticed — one  who  would  quietly  take  her 
place  at  the  dinner-table  and  attract  no  more  special  atten- 
tion "than  the  flowers,  for  example,  which  every  one  would 
glance  at  with  some  satisfaction  and  then  forget  in  the 
interest  of  talking  and  dining.  He  knew  that  Ingram  would 
have  taken  Sheila  anywhere,  in  her  blue  serge  dress,  and 
been  quite  content  and  oblivious  of  observation.  But  then, 
Ingram  was  independent  of  those  social  circles  in  which  a 
married  man  must  move,  and  in  which  his  position  is  often 
defined  for  him  by  the  disposition  and  manners  of  his  wife. 
Ingram  did  not  know  how  women  talked.  It  was  for 
Sheila's  own  sake,  he  persuaded  himself,  that  he  was  anxious 
about  the  impression  she  should  make,  and  that  he  had 
drilled  her  in  all  that  she  should  do  and  say. 

"  Above  all  things,"  he  said, "  mind  you  take  no  notice  of 
me.  Another  man  will  take  you  in  to  dinner,  of  course  ; 
and  I  shall  take  in  somebody  else  ;  and  we  shall  not  be  near 
each  other.  But  it's  after  dinner,  I  mean — when  the  men 
go  into  the  drawing-room,  don't  you  come  and  speak  to  me, 
or  take  any  notice  of  me  whatever." 

"  Mayn't  I  look  at  you,  Frank  ?  " 

"  If  you  do,  you'll  have  half-a-dozen  people,  all  watching 


*    TRANSFORMATION  191 

you,  saying  to  themselves  or  to  each  other,  '  Poor  thing,  she 
hasn't  got  over  her  infatuation  yet.  Isn't  it  pretty  to  see 
how  naturally  her  eyes  turn  towards  him  ? ' ' 

"  But  I  shouldn't  mind  them  saying  that,"  said  Sheila, 
with  a  smile. 

"  Oh,  you  mustn't  be  pitied  in  that  fashion.  Let  them 
keep  their  compassion  to  themselves." 

"  Do  you  know,  dear,"  said  Sheila,  very  quietly,  "  that  I 
think  you  exaggerate  the  interest  people  will  take  in  me.  I 
don't  think  I  can  be  of  such  importance  to  them.  I  don't 
think  they  will  be  watching  me  as  you  fancy." 

"  Oh,  you  don't  know,"  he  said.  "  I  know  they  fancy  I 
have  done  something  romantic,  heroic,  and  all  that  kind  of 
thing,  and  they  are  curious  to  see  you." 

"  They  cannot  hurt  me  by  looking  at  me,"  said  Sheila, 
simply.  "  And  they  will  soon  find  out  how  little  there  is  to 
discover." 

The  house  being  in  Holland  Park,  they  had  not  far  to  go  ; 
and  just  as  they  were  driving  up  to  the  door,  a  young  man, 
slight,  sandy-haired,  and  stooping,  got  out  of  a  hansom  and 
crossed  the  pavement. 

"  By  Jove,"  said  Lavender,  "  there  is  Wemyss.  That  is 
Lord  Arthur  Wemyss,  Sheila  :  mind,  if  you  should  talk  to 
him,  not  to  call  him,  '  my  lord.'  " 

Sheila  laughed,  and  said — 

"  How  am  I  to  remember  all  these  things  ?  " 

They  got  into  the  house,  and  by  and  by  Lavender  found 
himself,  with  Sheila  on  his  arm,  entering  a  drawing-room 
to  present  her  to  certain  of  his  friends.  It  was  a  large  room, 
with  a  great  deal  of  gilding  and  colour  about  it,  and  with  a 
conservatory  at  the  further  end  ;  but  the  blaze  of  light  had 
not  so  bewildering  an  effect  on  Sheila's  eyes  as  the  appearance 
of  two  ladies  to  whom  she  was  now  introduced.  She  had 
heard  much  about  them.  She  was  curious  to  see  them. 
Many  a  time  had  she  thought  over  the  strange  story 
Lavender  had  told  her  of  the  woman  who  heard  that  her 
husband  was  dying  in  hospital  during  the  war,  and  started 
off,  herself  and  her  daughter,  to  find  him  out — how  there 
was  in  the  same  hospital  another  dying  man  whom  they  had 
known  some  years  before,  and  who  had  gone  away  because 
this  daughter  would  not  listen  to  him — how  this  man,  being 


192  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

very  near  to  death,  begged  that  the  girl  would  do  him  the 
last  favour  he  would  ask  of  her,  of  wearing  his  name  and 
inheriting  his  property  ;  and  how,  some  few  hours  after  the 
strange  and  sad  ceremony  had  been  performed,  he  breathed 
his  last,  happy  in  holding  her  hand.  The  father  died  next 
day  ;  and  the  two  widows  were  thrown  upon  the  world, 
almost  without  friends,  but  not  without  means.  This  man 
Lorraine  had  been  possessed  of  considerable  wealth ;  and 
the  girl  who  had  suddenly  become  mistress  of  it  found  her- 
self able  to  employ  all  possible  methods  of  assuaging  her 
mother's  grief.  They  began  to  travel.  The  two  women 
went  from  capital  to  capital,  until  at  last  they  came  to 
London ;  and  here,  having  gathered  around  them  a  con- 
siderable number  of  friends,  they  proposed  to  take  up  their 
residence  permanently.  Lavender  had  often  talked  to  Sheila 
about  Mrs.  Lorraine — about  her  shrewdness,  her  sharp  say- 
ings, and  the  odd  contrast  between  this  clever,  keen,  frank 
woman  of  the  world  and  the  woman  one  would  have  ex- 
pected to  be  the  heroine  of  a  pathetic  tale. 

But  were  there  two  Mrs.  Lorraines  ?  That  had  been 
Sheila's  first  question  to  herself  when,  after  having  been 
introduced  to  one  lady  under  that  name,  she  suddenly  saw 
before  her  another,  who  was  introduced  to  her  as  Mrs. 
Kavanagh.  The  mother  and  daughter  were  singularly 
alike.  They  had  the  same  slight  and  graceful  figure,  which 
made  them  appear  taller  than  they  really  were ;  the  same 
pale,  fine,  and  rather  handsome  features  ;  the  same  large, 
clear,  grey  eyes  ;  and  apparently  the  same  abundant  mass  of 
soft  fair  hair,  heavily  plaited  in  the  latest  fashion.  They 
were  both  dressed  entirely  in  black,  except  that  the  daughter 
had  a  band  of  blue  round  her  slender  waist.  It  was  soon 
apparent,  too,  that  the  manner  of  the  two  women  was 
singularly  different ;  Mrs.  Kavanagh  bearing  herself  with  a 
certain  sad  reserve  that  almost  approached  melancholy  at 
times  ;  while  her  daughter,  with  more  life  and  spirit  in  her 
face,  passed  rapidly  through  all  sorts  of  varying  moods, 
until  one  could  scarcely  tell  whether  the  affectation  lay  in 
a  certain  cynical  audacity  in  her  speech,  or  whether  it  lay 
in  her  assumption  of  a  certain  coyness  and  archness,  or 
whether  there  was  no  affectation  at  all  in  the  matter. 
However  that  might  be,  there  could  be  no  doubt  about  the 


TRANSFORMATION  193 

sincerity  of  those  grey  eyes  of  hers.  There  was  something 
almost  cruelly  frank  in  the  clear  look  of  them  ;  and  when 
her  face  was  not  lit  up  by  some  passing  smile,  the  pale  and 
fine  features  seemed  to  borrow  something  of  severity  from 
her  unflinching,  calm,  and  dispassionate  habit  of  regarding 
those  around  her. 

Sheila  was  prepared  to  like  Mrs.  Lorraine  from  the  first 
moment  she  had  caught  sight  of  her.  The  honesty  of  the 
grey  eyes  attracted  her.  And,  indeed,  the  young  widow 
seemed  very  much  interested  in  the  young  wife  ;  and,  so  far 
as  she  could  in  that  awkward  period  just  before  dinner, 
strove  to  make  friends  with  her.  Sheila  was  introduced  to 
a  number  of  people,  but  none  of  them  pleased  her  as  well 
as  Mrs.  Lorraine.  Then  dinner  was  announced,  and  Sheila 
found  that  she  was  being  escorted  across  the  passage  to  the 
room  on  the  other  side  by  the  young  man  whom  she  had 
seen  get  out  of  the  hansom. 

This  Lord  Arthur  "Wemyss  was  the  younger  son  of  a  great 
Tory  Duke ;  he  represented  in  the  House  a  small  country 
borough  which  his  father  practically  owned  ;  he  had  a  fair 
amount  of  ability,  an  uncommonly  high  opinion  of  himself, 
and  a  certain  affectation  of  being  bored  by  the  frivolous 
ways  and  talk  of  ordinary  society.  He  gave  himself  credit 
for  being  the  clever  member  of  the  family  ;  and,  if  there  was 
any  cleverness  going,  he  had  it ;  but  there  were  some  who 
said  that  his  reputation  in  the  House  and  elsewhere  as  a  good 
speaker  was  mainly  based  on  the  fact  that  he  had  an 
abundant  assurance  and  was  not  easily  put  out.  Unfortu- 
nately the  public  could  come  to  no  decision  on  the  point,  for 
the  reporters  were  not  kind  to  Lord  Arthur  ;  and  the 
substance  of  his  speeches  was  as  unknown  to  the  world  as  his 
manner  of  delivering  them. 

Now  Mrs.  Lorraine  had  intended  to  tell  this  young  man 
something  about  the  girl  whom  he  was  to  take  in  to  dinner  ; 
but  she  herself  had  been  so  occupied  with  Sheila  that  the 
opportunity  escaped  her.  Lord  Arthur  accordingly  knew 
only  that  he  was  beside  a  very  pretty  woman,  who  was  a 
Mrs.  Somebody — the  exact  name  he  had  not  caught — and 
that  the  few  words  she  had  spoken  were  pronounced  in  a 
curious  way.  Probably,  he  thought,  she  was  from  Dublin. 

He  also  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  she  was  too  pretty 

o 


194  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

to  know  anything  about  the  Deceased  Wife's  Sister  Bill,  in 
which  he  Avas,  for  family  reasons,  deeply  interested  ;  and 
considered  it  more  likely  that  she  would  prefer  to  talk  about 
theatres  and  such  things. 

"  Were  you  at  Covent  Garden  last  night  ?  "  he  said. 

"  No,"  answered  Sheila.  "  But  I  was  there  two  days  ago  ; 
and  it  is  very  pretty  to  see  the  flowers  and  the  fruit ;  and 
they  smell  so  sweetly  as  you  walk  through." 

"  Oh  yes,  it  is  delightful,"  said  Lord  Arthur.  "  But  I 
was  speaking  of  the  theatre." 

"  Is  there  a  theatre  in  there  ?  " 

He  stared  at  her,  and  inwardly  hoped  she  was  not  mad. 

"Not  in  among  the  shops,  no.  But  don't  you  know 
Covent  Garden  Theatre  ?  " 

"  I  have  never  been  in  any  theatre,  not  yet,"  said  Sheila. 

And  then  it  began  to  dawn  upon  him  that  he  must  be 
talking  to  Frank  Lavender's  wife.  Was  there  not  some 
rumour  about  the  girl  having  come  from  a  remote  part  of 
the  Highlands  ?  He  determined  on  a  bold  stroke. 

"  You  have  not  been  long  enough  in  London  to  see  the 
theatres,  I  suppose." 

And  then  Sheila,  taking  it  for  granted  that  he  knew  her 
husband  very  well,  and  that  he  was  quite  familiar  with  all 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  began  to  chat  to  him  freely 
enough.  He  found  that  this  Highland  girl  of  whom  he 
had  heard  vaguely  was  not  at  all  shy.  He  began  to  feel 
interested.  By  and  by  he  actually  made  efforts  to  assist  her 
frankness  by  becoming  equally  frank,  and  by  telling  her  all 
he  knew  of  the  things  with  which  they  were  mutually 
acquainted.  Of  course,  by  this  time  they  had  got  up  into 
the  Highlands.  The  young  man  had  himself  been  in  the 
Highlands— frequently,  indeed.  He  had  never  crossed  to 
Lewis,  but  he  had  seen  the  island  from  the  Sutherland- 
shire  coast.  There  were  very  many  deer  in  Sutherlaridshire, 
were  there  not  ?  Yes,  he  had  been  out  a  great  many  times, 
and  had  his  share  of  adventures.  Had  he  not  gone  out  before 
daylight,  and  waited  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  hidden  by  some 
rocks,  to  watch  the  mists  clear  along  the  hill-sides  and  in  the 
valley  below  ?  Did  not  he  tremble  when  he  fired  his  first 
shot,  and  had  not  something  passed  before  his  eyes  so  that 
he  could  not  see  for  a  moment  whether  the  stag  had  fallen  or 


TRANSFORMATION  195 

was  away  like  lightning  down  the  bed  of  the  stream  ?  Some- 
how or  other  Lord  Arthur  found  himself  relating  all  his  ex- 
periences as  if  he  were  a  novice  begging  for  the  good  opinion 
of  a  master.  She  knew  all  about  it,  obviously  ;  and  he  would 
tell  her  his  small  adventures,  if  only  that  she  might  laugh  at 
him.  But  Sheila  did  not  laugh.  She  was  greatly  delighted 
to  have  this  talk  about  the  hills,  and  the  deer,  and  the  wet 
mornings.  She  forgot  all  about  the  dinner  before  her.  The 
servants  whipped  off  successive  plates  without  her  seeing 
anything  of  them  ;  they  received  random  answers  about  wine, 
so  that  she  had  three  full  glasses  standing  by  her  untouched. 
She  was  no  more  in  Holland  Park  at  that  moment  than  were 
the  wild  animals  of  which  she  spoke  so  proudly  and  lovingly. 
If  the  great  and  frail  masses  of  flowers  on  the  table  brought 
her  any  perfume  at  all,  it  was  a  scent  of  peat-smoke.  Lord 
Arthur  thought  that  his  companion  was  a  little  too  frank 
and  confiding  ;  or  rather  that  she  would  have  been,  had  she 
been  talking  to  any  one  but  himself.  He  rather  liked  it. 
He  was  pleased  to  have  established  friendly  relations  with  a 
pretty  woman  in  so  short 'a  space  ;  but  ought  not  her  husband 
to  give  her  a  hint  about  not  admitting  all  and  sundry  to  the 
enjdyment  of  these  favours  ?  Perhaps,  too,  Lord  Arthur  felt 
bound  to  admit  to  himself  there  were  some  men  who  more 
than  others  inspired  confidence  in  women.  He  laid  no 
claims  to  being  a  fascinating  person ;  but  he  had  had  his 
share  of  success  ;  and  considered  that  Sheila  showed  dis- 
crimination as  well  as  good-nature  in  talking  so  to  him. 
There  was,  after  all,  no  necessity  for  her  husband  to  warn 
her.  She  would  know  how  to  guard  against  admitting  all 
men  to  a  like  intimacy.  In  the  meantime,  he  was  very  well 
pleased  to  be  sitting  beside  this  pretty  and  agreeable  com- 
panion, who  had  an  abundant  fund  of  good  spirits,  and  who 
showed  no  sort  of  conscious  embarrassment  in  thanking  you 
with  a  bright  look  of  her  eyes  or  by  a  smile  when  you  told 
her  something  that  pleased  or  amused  her. 

But  these  flattering  little  speculations  were  doomed  to 
receive  a  sudden  check.  The  juvenile  M.P.  began  to  remark 
that  a  shade  occasionally  crossed  the  face  of  his  fair  com- 
panion ;  and  that  she  sometimes  looked  a  little  anxiously 
across  the  table,  where  Mr.  Lavender  and  Mrs.  Lorraine 
were  seated,  half -hidden  from  view  by  a  heap  of  silver  and 

0  2 


ig6  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

flowers  in  the  middle  of  the  board.  But  though  they  could 
not  easily  be  seen,  except  at  such  moments  as  they  turned  to 
address  some  neighbour,  they  could  be  distinctly  enough 
heard,  when  there  was  any  lull  in  the  general  conversation. 
And  what  Sheila  heard  did  not  please  her.  She  began  to  like 
that  fair,  clear-eyed  young  woman  less.  Perhaps  her  husband 
meant  nothing  by  the  fashion  in  which  he  talked  of  marriage, 
and  the  condition  of  a  married  man  ;  but  she  would  rather 
have  not  heard  him  talk  so.  Moreover,  she  was  aware  that, 
in  the  gentlest  possible  fashion,  Mrs.  Lorraine  was  making- 
fun  of  her  companion,  and  exposing  him  to  small  and  grace- 
ful shafts  of  ridicule  ;  while  he  seemed,  on  the  whole,  to 
enjoy  these  attacks. 

The  ingenuous  self-love  of  Lord  Arthur  Wemyss,  M.P., 
was  severely  wounded  by  the  notion  that,  after  all,  he  had 
been  made  a  cat's-paw  of  by  a  jealous  wife.  He  had  been 
flattered  by  this  girl's  exceeding  friendliness  ;  he  had  given 
her  credit  for  a  genuine  impulsiveness  which  seemed  to  him 
as  pleasing  as  it  was  uncommon ;  and  he  had,  with  the 
moderation  expected  of  a  man  in  politics,  who  hoped  some 
day  to  assist  in  the  government  of  the  nation  by  accepting  a 
Junior  Lordship,  admired  her.  But  was  it  all  pretence  ? 
Was  she  paying  court  to  him  merely  to  annoy  her  husband  ? 
Had  her  enthusiasm  about  the  shooting  of  red  deer  been 
prompted  by  a  wish  to  attract  a  certain  pair  of  eyes  at  the 
other  side  of  the  table  ?  Lord  Arthur  began  to  sneer  at 
himself  for  having  been  duped.  He  ought  to  have  known. 
Women  were  as  much  women  in  a  Hebridean  island  as  in 
Bayswater.  He  began  to  treat  Sheila  Avith  a  little  more 
coolness ;  while  she  became  more  and  more  pre-occupied 
with  the  couple  across  the  table,  and  sometimes  was  inno- 
cently rude  in  answering  his  questions  at  random. 

Wlien  the  ladies  were  going  into  the  drawing-room,  Mrs. 
Lorraine  put  her  hand  within  Sheila's  arm,  and  led  her  to 
the  entrance  of  the  -conservatory. 

"  I  hope  we  shall  be  friends,"  she  said. 

"  I  hope  so,"  said  Sheila,  not  very  warmly. 

"Until  you  get  better  acquainted  with  your  husband's 
friends,  you  will  feel  rather  lonely  at  being  left  as  at  present, 
I  suppose." 

"  A  little,"  said  Sheila. 


TRANS  FORMA  TfOJV  197 

"  It  is  a  silly  thing,  altogether.  If  men  smoked  after 
dinner,  I  could  understand  it.  But  they  merely  sit,  looking 
at  wine  they  don't  drink,  talking  a  few  commonplaces,  and 
yawning." 

"  Why  do  they  do  it,  then  ?  "  said  Sheila. 

"  They  don't  do  it  everywhere.  But  here  we  keep  to  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  ancients." 

"  What  do  you  know  about  the  manners  of  the  ancients  ?" 
said  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  tapping  her  daughter's  shoulder,  as  she 
passed  with  a  sheet  of  music. 

"  I  have  studied  them  frequently,  mamma,"  said  the 
daughter  with  composure — "in  the  monkey-house  at  the 
Zoological  Gardens." 

The  mamma  smiled  and  passed  on  to  place  the  music 
on  the  piano.  Sheila  did  not  understand  what  her  com- 
panion had  said  ;  and,  indeed,  Mrs.  Lorraine  immediately 
turned,  with  the  same  calm,  fine  face,  and  careless  eyes, 
to  ask  Sheila  whether  she  would  not,  by  and  by,  sing 
one  of  those  northern  songs  of  which  Mr.  Lavender  had 
told  her. 

A  tall  girl,  with  her  back-hair  tied  in  a  knot,  and  her 
costume  copied  from  a  well-known  pre-Raphaelite  drawing, 
sat  down  to  the  piano,  and  sang  a  mystic  song  of  the  present 
day,  in  which  the  moon,  the  stars,  and  other  natural  objects 
behaved  strangely,  and  were  somehow  mixed  up  with  the 
appeal  of  a  maiden  who  demanded  that  her  dead  lover  should 
be  reclaimed  from  the  sea. 

"  Do  you  ever  go  down  to  your  husband's  studio  ?  "  said 
Mrs.  Lorraine. 

Sheila  glanced  towards  the  lady  at  the  piano. 

"  Oh,  you  may  talk,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  with  the  least 
expression  of  contempt  in  the  grey  eyes.  "  She  is  singing 
to  gratify  herself,  not  us." 

"  Yes,  I  sometimes  go  down,"  said  Sheila,  in  as  low  a 
voice  as  she  could  manage  without  falling  into  a  whisper  ; 
"  and  it  is  such  a  dismal  place.  It  is  very  hard  on  him  to 
have  to  work  in  a  big  bare  room  like  that,  with  the  windows 
half -blinded.  But  sometimes  I  think  Frank  would  rather 
have  me  out  of  the  way." 

"  And  what  would  he  do  if  both  of  us  were  to  pay  him  a 
visit  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Lorraine.  "  I  should  like  to  see  the 


ig8  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

studio.     Won't  you  call  for  me  some  day  and  take  me  with 
you  ? " 

Take  her  with  her,  indeed  !  Sheila  began  to  wonder  that 
she  did  not  propose  to  go  alone.  Fortunately,  there  was  no 
need  to  answer  the  question  ;  for  at  this  moment  the  song 
came  to  an  end,  and  there  was  a  general  movement  and 
murmur  of  gratitude. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  to  the  lady  who  had 
sung,  and  who  was  now  returning  to  the  photographs  she 
had  left.  "Thank  you  very  much.  I  knew  some  one 
would  instantly  ask  you  to  sing  that  song — it  is  the  most 
charming  of  all  your  songs,  I  think,  and  how  well  it  suits 
your  voice,  too  !  " 

Then  she  turned  to  Sheila  again. 

"  How  did  you  like  Lord  Arthur  Wemyss  ?  " 

"  I  think  he  is  a  very  good  young  man." 

"  Young  men  are  never  good  ;  but  they  may  be  amiable," 
said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  not  perceiving  that  Sheila  had  blundered 
on  a  wrong  adjective,  and  that  she  had  really  meant  that 
she  thought  him  honest  and  pleasant. 

"  You  did  not  speak  at  all,  I  think,  to  your  neighbour  on 
the  right ;  that  was  wise  of  you.  He  is  a  most  insufferable 
person,  but  mamma  bears  with  him  for  the  sake  of  his 
daughter,  who  sang  just  now.  He  is  too  rich.  And  he 
smiles  blandly,  and  takes  a  sort  of  after-dinner  view  of 
things,  as  if  he  coincided  with  the  arrangements  of  Provi- 
dence. Don't  you  take  coffee  ?  Tea,  then.  I  have  met 
your  aunt — I  mean  Mr.  Lavender's  aunt — such  a  dear  old 
lady  she  is  !  " 

"  I  don't  like  her,"  said  Sheila. 

"  Oh,  don't  you,  really  ?  " 

"  Not  at  present ;  but  I  shall  try  to  like  her." 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  calmly,  "  you  know  she  has 
her  peculiarities.  I  wish  she  wouldn't  talk  so  much  about 
Marcus  Antoninus  and  doses  of  medicine.  I  fancy  I  smell 
calomel  when  she  comes  near.  I  suppose  if  she  were  in  a 
pantomime,  they'd  dress  her  up  as  a  phial,  tie  a  string  round 
her  neck,  and  label  her  '  POISON.'  Dear  me,  how  languid 
one  gets  in  this  climate.  Let  us  sit  down.  I  wish  I  was  as 
strong  as  mamma." 

They  sat  down  together,  and  Mrs.   Lorraine  evidently 


TRANSFORMATION  199 

expected  to  be  petted  and  made  much  of  by  her  new  com- 
panion. She  gave  herself  pretty  little  airs  and  graces,  and 
said  no  more  cutting  things  about  anybody.  And  Sheila 
somehow  found  herself  being  drawn  to  the  girl,  so  that  she 
could  scarcely  help  taking  her  hand,  and  saying  how  sorry 
she  was  to  see  her  so  pale,  and  fine,  and  delicate.  The  hand, 
too,  was  so  small  that  the  tiny  white  fingers  seemed  scarcely 
bigger  than  the  claws  of  a  bird.  "Was  not  that  slender 
waist,  to  which  some  little  attention  was  called  by  a  belt  of 
bold  blue,  ju*t  a  little  too  slender  for  health,  although  the 
bust  and  shoulders  were  exquisitely  and  finely  proportioned  ? 

"  We  were  at  the  Academy  all  the  morning,  and  mamma 
is  not  a  bit  tired.  Why  has  not  Mr.  Lavender  anything  in 
the  Academy  ?  Oh,  I  forgot,"  she  added,  with  a  smile  ; 
"  of  course  he  has  been  very  much  engaged.  But  now,  I 
suppose,  he  will  settle  down  to  work." 

Sheila  wished  that  this  fragile-looking  girl  would  not  so 
continually  refer  to  her  husband  ;  but  how  was  any  one  to 
find  fault  with  her,  when  she  put  a  little  air  of  plaiutiveness 
into  the  ordinarily  cold  grey  eyes,  and  looked  at  her  small 
hand,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  The  fingers  there  are  very  small, 
and  even  whiter  than  the  glove  that  covers  them.  They 
are  the  fingers  of  a  child,  who  ought  to  be  petted." 

Then  the  men  came  in  from  the  dining-room.  Lavender 
looked  round  to  see  where  Sheila  was — perhaps  with  a  trifle 
of  disappointment  that  she  was  not  the  most  prominent 
figure  there.  Had  he  expected  to  find  all  the  women 
surrounding  her,  and  admiring  her,  and  all  the  men  going 
up  to  pay  court  to  her  ?  Sheila  was  seated  near  a  small 
table,  and  Mrs.  Lorraine  was  showing  her  something.  She 
was  just  like  anybody  else.  If  she  was  a  wonderful  Sea- 
Princess  who  had  come  into  a  new  world,  no  one  seemed  to 
observe  her.  The  only  thing  that  distinguished  her  from 
the  women  around  her  was  her  freshness  of  colour  and  the 
unusual  combination  of  black  eyelashes  and  dark-blue  eyes. 
Lavender  had  arranged  that  Sheila's  first  appearance  in 
public  should  be  at  a  very  quiet  little  dinner-party ;  but 
even  here  she  failed  to  create  any  profound  impression. 
She  was,  as  he  had  to  confess  to  himself  again,  just  like 
anybody  else. 

He  went  over  to  where  Mrs.  Lorraine  was,  and  sat  down 


200  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

beside  her.  Sheila,  remembering  his  injunctions,  felt  bound 
to  leave  him  there  ;  and  as  she  rose  to  speak  to  Mi's.  Ka- 
vanagh,  who  was  standing  by,  that  lady  came  and  begged 
her  to  sing  a  Highland  song.  By  this  time,  Lavender  had 
succeeded  in  interesting  his  companion  about  something  or 
other  ;  and  neither  of  them  noticed  that  Sheila  had  gone  to 
the  piano,  attended  by  the  young  politician  who  had  taken 
her  in  to  dinner.  Nor  did  they  interrupt  their  talk  merely 
because  some  one  played  a  few  bars  of  prelude.  But  what 
was  this  that  suddenly  startled  Lavender  to  the  heart, 
causing  him  to  look  up  with  surprise  ?  He  had  not  heard 
the  air  since  he  was  in  Borva  ;  and  when  Sheila  sang 

"  Hark !  hark,  the  horn 
On  mountain  breezes  borne ! 
Awake,  it  is  morn; 

Awake,  Monaltrie!" 

all  sorts  of  reminiscences  came  rushing  in  upon  him.  How 
often  had  he  heard  that  wild  story  of  Monaltrie's  flight  sung 
in  the  small  chamber  over  the  sea,  with  a  sound  of  the  waves 
outside,  and  a  scent  of  sea-weed  coming  in  at  the  door  and 
the  windows  !  It  was  from  the  shores  of  Borva  that  young 
Monaltrie  must  have  fled.  It  must  have  been  in  Borva  that 
his  sweetheart  sat  in  her  bower  and  sang,  the  burden  of  all 
her  singing  being  "  Return,  Monaltrie  !  "  And  then  as 
Sheila  sang  now,  making  the  monotonous  and  plaintive  air 
wild  and  strange — 

"  What  cries  of  wild  despair 
Awake  the  sultry  air? 
Frenzied  with  anxious  care, 
She  seeks  Monaltrie ! " 

he  heard  no  more  of  the  song.  He  was  thinking  of  bygone 
days  in  Borva,  and  of  old  Mackenzie  living  in  his  lonely 
house  there.  When  Sheila  had  finished  singing,  he  looked 
at  her,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  she  was  still  that  wonder- 
ful Princess  whom  he  had  wooed  on  the  shores  of  the 
Atlantic.  And  if  those  people  did  not  see  her  as  he  saw 
her,  ought  he  to  be  disappointed  because  of  their  blindness  ? 
But  if  they  saw  nothing  mystic  or  wonderful  about  Sheila, 
they  at  all  events  were  considerably  surprised  by  the  strange 


TRANS  FORM  A  TION  20 1 

sort  of  music  she  sang.  It  was  not  of  a  sort  commonly 
heard  in  a  London  drawing-room.  The  pathos  of  its  minor 
chords,  its  abrupt  intervals,  startling  and  wild  in  their  effect, 
and  the  slowly-subsiding  wail  in  which  it  closed,  did  not 
much  resemble  the  ordinary  drawing-room  "  piece."  Here, 
at  least,  Sheila  had  produced  an  impression  ;  and  presently 
there  was  a  heap  of  people  round  the  piano,  expressing 
their  admiration,  asking  questions,  and  begging  her  to  con- 
tinue. But  she  rose.  She  would  rather  not  sing  just  then. 
Whereupon  Lavender  came  over  to  her,  and  said — 

"  Sheila,  won't  you  sing  that  wild  one  about  the  farewell 
— that  has  the  sound  of  the  pipes  in  it,  you  know  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  she  said,  directly. 

Lavender  went  back  to  his  companion. 

"  She  is  very  obedient  to  you,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  with  a 
smile. 

"  She  is  a  very  good  girl,"  he  said. 

"  Oh !  soft  be  thy  slumbers,  by  Tigh-na-linne's  waters ; 
Thy  late-wake  was  sung  by  Macdiarmid's  fair  daughters ; 
But  far  in  Lochaber  the  true  heart  was  weeping 
Whose  hopes  are  entombed  in  the  grave  where  thou'rt  sleeping ;" 

— so  Sheila  sang  ;  and  it  seemed  to  the  people  that  this 
ballad  was  even  more  strange  than  its  predecessor.  When 
the  song  was  over,  Sheila  seemed  rather  anxious  to  get  out 
of  the  crowd,  and  indeed  walked  away  into  the  conservatory 
to  have  a  look  at  the  flowers. 

Yes,  Lavender  had  to  confess  to  himself,  Sheila  was  just 
like  anybody  else  in  this  drawing-room.  His  Sea-Princess 
had  produced  no  startling  impression.  He  forgot  that  he 
had  just  been  teaching  her  the  necessity  of  observing  the 
ways  and  customs  of  the  people  around  her,  so  that  she 
might  avoid  singularity. 

On  one  point,  at  least,  she  was  resolved  she  would  attend 
to  his  counsels — she  would  not  make  him  ridiculous  by  any 
show  of  affection  before  the  eyes  of  strangers.  She  did  not 
go  near  him  the  whole  evening.  She  remained  for  the  most 
part  in  that  half-conservatory,  half  ante-room  at  the  end  of 
the  drawing-room ;  and  when  any  one  talked  to  her  she 
answered,  and  when  she  was  left  alone  she  turned  to  the 
flowers.  Ah1  this  time,  however,  she  could  observe  that 


202  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Lavender  and  Mrs.  Lorraine  were  very  much  engrossed  in 
their  conversation  ;  that  she  seemed  very  much  amused,  and 
he  at  times  a  trifle  embarrassed  ;  and  that  both  of  them  had 
apparently  forgotten  her  existence.  Mrs.  Kavanagh  was 
continually  corning  to  Sheila,  and  trying  to  coax  her  back 
into  the  larger  room  ;  but  in  vain.  She  would  rather  not 
sing  any  more  that  night.  She  liked  to  look  at  flowers. 
She  was  not  tired  at  all  ;  and  she  had  already  seen  those 
wonderful  photographs  about  which  everybody  was  talking. 
"  Well,  Sheila,  how  did  you  enjoy  yourself  ? "  said  her 
husband,  as  they  were  driving  home. 

"  I  wish  Mr.  Ingram  had  been  there,"  said  Sheila. 
"  Ingram  !  he  would  not  have  stopped  in  the  place  five 
minutes,  unless  he  could  play  the  part  of  Diogenes,  and  say 
rude  things  to  everybody  all  round.     "Were  you  at  all  dull  ? " 
<  A  little." 

'  Didn't  somebody  look  after  you  ?  "  ^ 

'  Oh  yes,  many  persons  were  very  kind.     But — but — 
'  Well  ?  " 

'  Nobody  seemed  to  be  better  off  than  myself.  They  all 
seemed  to  be  wanting  something  to  do  ;  and  I  am  sure  they 
were  all  very  glad  to  come  away." 

"  No,  no,  no,  Sheila.  That  is  only  your  fancy.  You  were 
not  much  interested,  that  is  evident ;  but  you  will  get  on 
better  when  you  know  more  of  the  people.  You  were  a 
stranger — that  is  what  disappointed  you  ;  but  you  will  not 
always  be  a  stranger." 

Sheila  did  not  answer.  Perhaps  she  contemplated  with 
no  great  hope  or  longing  the  possibility  of  her  coming  to 
like  such  a  method  of  getting  through  an  evening.  At  all 
events,  she  looked  forward  with  no  great  pleasure  to  the 
chance  of  her  having  to  become  friends  with  Mrs.  Lorraine. 
All  the  way  home,  Sheila  was  examining  her  own  heart  to 
try  to  discover  why  such  bitter  feelings  should  be  there. 
Surely  that  American  girl  was  honest  :  there  was  honesty  in 
her  grey  eyes.  She  had  been  most  kind  to  Sheila  herself. 
And  was  there  not  at  times — when  she  abandoned  the  ways 
and  speech  of  a  woman  of  the  world — a  singular  coy  fascina- 
tion about  her,  that  any  man  might  be  excused  for  yielding 
to,  even  as  any  woman  might  yield  to  it  ?  Sheila  fought 
with  herself :  and  resolved  that  she  would  cast  forth  from 


BY  THE  WATERS  OP  BABYLON  203 

her  heart  those  harsh  fancies  and  indignant  feelings  that 
seemed  to  have  established  themselves  there.  She  would 
not  hate  Mrs.  Lorraine. 

As  for  Lavender,  what  was  he  thinking  of,  now  that  he 
and  his  young  wife  were  driving  home  from  their  first 
experiment  in  society  ?  He  had  to  confess  to  a  certain 
sense  of  failure.  His  dreams  had  not  been  realised.  Every- 
one who  had  spoken  to  him  had  conveyed  to  him,  as  freely 
as  good  manners  would  permit,  their  congratulations,  and 
their  praises  of  his  wife.  But  the  impressive  scenes  he  had 
been  forecasting  were  out  of  the  question.  There  was  a 
little  curiosity  about  her,  on  the  part  of  those  who  knew  her 
story ;  and  that  was  all.  Sheila  bore  herself  very  well. 
She  made  no  blunders.  She  had  a  good  presence  ;  she  sang 
well ;  and  everyone  could  see  that  she  was  handsome, 
gentle,  and  honest.  Surely,  he  argued  with  himself,  that 
ought  to  content  the  most  exacting.  But,  in  spite  of  all 
argument,  he  was  not  quite  satisfied.  He  did  not  regret 
that  he  had  sacrificed  his  liberty  in  a  freak  of  romance  ;  he 
did  not  even  regard  the  fact  of  a  man  in  his  position  having 
dared  to  marry  a  penniless  girl  as  anything  very  meritorious 
or  heroic ;  but  he  had  hoped  that  the  dramatic  circum- 
stances of  the  case  would  be  duly  recognized  by  his  friends, 
and  that  Sheila  would  be  an  object  of  interest,  and  wonder, 
and  talk  in  a  whole  series  of  social  circles.  The  result  of 
his  adventure,  he  now  saw,  was  different.  There  was  only 
one  married  man  the  more  in  London :  and  London  was 
not  disposed  to  pay  any  particular  heed  to  the  circumstance. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

BY  THE  WATERS  OP  BABYLON. 

IF  Frank  Lavender  had  been  told  that  his  love  for  his  wife 
was  in  danger  of  waning,  he  would  have  laughed  the  sugges- 
tion to  scorn.  He  was  as  fond  of  her  and  as  proud  of  her 
as  ever.  Who  knew  as  well  as  himself  the  tenderness 
of  her  heart,  the  proud  sensitiveness  of  her  conscience,  the 
generosity  of  self-sacrifice  she  was  always  ready  to  bestow  ; 
and  was  he  likely  to  become  blind,  so  that  he  should  fail  to 


204  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

see  how  fair,  and  fearless,  and  handsome  she  was  ?  Nothing 
was  too  good  for  her.  He  was  recklessly  extravagant  in 
buying  her  jewellery,  dresses,  and  what  not ;  and  she  was 
abundantly  grateful.  Nor  had  he  relinquished  those  wild 
dreams  of  future  renown  which  was  to  be  consecrated  all  to 
her.  He  would  make  the  name  and  the  fame  of  Sheila 
known  to  all  the  world,  not  for  his  own  sake,  but  that  she 
might  be  pleased.  He  had  been  disappointed,  it  is  true,  in 
his  fancies  about  the  impression  she  would  produce  on  his 
friends ;  but  what  a  trifle  was  that  !  The  folly  of  those 
fancies  was  his  own.  For  the  rest,  he  was  glad  that  Sheila 
was  not  so  different  from  the  other  women  whom  he  knew. 
He  hit  upon  the  profound  reflection,  as  he  sat  alone  in  his 
studio,  that  a  man's  wife,  like  his  costume,  should  not  be 
so  remarkable  as  to  attract  attention.  The  perfection  of 
dress  was  that  you  should  be  unconscious  of  its  presence  : 
might  that  not  be  so  with  marriage  ?  After  all,  it  was 
better  that  he  had  not  bound  himself  to  lug  about  a  lion 
whenever  he  visited  people's  houses. 

Still  there  was  something.  He  found  himself  a  good  deal 
alone.  Sheila  did  not  seem  to  care  much  for  going  into 
society  ;  and  although  he  did  not  greatly  like  the  notion  of 
going  by  himself,  nevertheless  one  had  certain  duties  towards 
one's  friends  to  perform.  She  did  not  even  care  to  go  down 
to  the  Park  of  a  morning.  She  always  professed  her 
readiness  to  go  ;  but  he  fancied  it  was  a  trifle  tiresome  for 
her  ;  and  so,  when  there  was  nothing  particular  proceeding 
in  the  studio,  he  would  walk  down  through  Kensington 
Gardens  himself,  and  have  a  chat  with  some  friends, 
followed  generally  by  luncheon  with  this  or  the  other  party 
of  them.  Sheila  had  been  taught  that  she  ought  not  to 
come  so  frequently  to  that  studio.  Bras  would  not  lie 
quiet.  Moreover,  if  dealers  or  other  strangers  should  come 
in,  would  they  not  take  her  for  a  model  ?  So  Sheila  stayed 
at  home  ;  and  Mr.  Lavender,  after  having  dressed  with  care 
in  the  morning — with  very  singular  care,  indeed,  consider- 
ing that  he  was  going  to  his  work — used  to  go  down  to  his 
studio  to  smoke  a  cigarette.  The  chances  were  that  he  was 
not  in  a  humour  for  working.  Those  dreams  of  a  great 
renown  which  he  was  to  win  for  Sheila's  sake  were  too  vast, 
remote,  and  impalpable  to  be  fastened  down  to  any  square 


BY  THE  WATERS  OF  BABYLON  205 

bit  of  canvas.  He  would  sit  down  in  an  easy-chair,  and 
kick  his  heels  on  the  floor  for  a  time,  regarding  the  huge 
dusky  figures,  the  helmeted  heroes,  and  the  impossible 
horses  of  the  tapestry  on  the  opposite  wall.  Then  he  would 
go  out  and  lock  the  door  behind  him  ;  leaving  no  message 
whatever  for  those  crowds  of  importunate  dealers  who,  as 
Sheila  fancied,  were  besieging  him  with  offers  in  one  hand 
and  purses  of  gold  in  the  other. 

One  morning,  after  she  had  been  indoors  for  two  or  three 
days,  and  had  grown  hopelessly  tired  of  the  monotony  of 
watching  that  sunlit  square,  she  was  filled  with  an  un- 
conquerable longing  to  go  away,  for  however  brief  a  space, 
from  the  sight  of  houses.  The  morning  Avas  sweet,  and 
clear,  and  bright ;  white  clouds  were  slowly  crossing  a  fair 
blue  sky  ;  and  a  fresh  and  cool  breeze  was  blowing  in  at  the 
open  French  windows. 

"  Bras,"  she  said,  passing  downstairs,  and  out  into  the 
small  garden,  "  we  are  going  into  the  country." 

The  great  deerhound  seemed  to  know  ;  and  rose  and  came 
to  her  with  great  gravity,  while  she  clasped  on  the  leash. 
He  was  no  frisky  animal  to  show  his  delight  by  yelping  and 
gambolling  ;  but  he  laid  his  long  nose  in  her  hand,  and 
slowly  wagged  the  down-drooping  curve  of  his  shaggy  tail ; 
and  then  he  placidly  walked  by  her  side  up  into  the  hall, 
where  he  stood  awaiting  her. 

She  would  go  along  and  beg  of  her  husband  to  leave  his 
work  for  a  day,  and  come  with  her  for  a  walk  down  to 
Richmond  Park.  She  had  often  heard  Mr.  Ingram  speak  of 
walking  down  ;  and  she  remembered  that  much  of  the  road 
was  pretty.  "Why  should  not  her  husband  have  one  holiday  ? 

"  It  is  such  a  shame,"  she  had  said  to  him  that  morning, 
as  he  left,  "  that  you  will  be  going  into  that  gloomy  place, 
with  its  bare  walls  and  chairs,  and  the  windows  so  that  you 
cannot  see  out  of  them." 

"  I  must  get  some  work  done  somehow,  Sheila,"  he  said, 
although  he  did  not  tell  her  that  he  had  not  finished  a 
picture  since  his  marriage. 

"  I  wish  I  could  do  some  of  it  for  you,"  she  said. 

"  You !  All  the  work  you're  good  for  is  catching  fish, 
and  feeding  ducks,  and  hauling  up  sails.  Why  don't  you 
come  down  and  feed  the  ducks  in  the  Serpentine  ?  " 


206  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  I  should  like  to  do  that,"  she  answered.  "  I  will  go 
any  clay  with  you." 

"Well,"  he  said,  "you  see,  I  don't  know  until  I  get 
along  to  the  studio  whether  I  can  get  away  for  the  morning  ; 
and  then,  if  I  were  to  come  back  here,  you  would  have  little 
or  no  time  to  dress.  Good-bye,  Sheila." 

"  Good-bye,"  she  had  said  to  him,  giving  up  the  Serpen- 
tine without  much  regret. 

But  the  morning  had  turned  out  so  delightful  that  she 
thought  she  would  go  along  to  the  studio,  and  hale  him  out 
of  that  gaunt  and  dingy  apartment.  She  would  take  him 
away  from  town  ;  therefore  she  might  put  on  the  rough  blue 
dress  in  which  she  used  to  go  boating  on  Loch  Eoag.  She 
had  lately  smartened  it  up  a  bit  with  some  white  braid  ;  and 
she  hoped  he  would  approve. 

Did  the  big  hound  know  the  dress  ?  He  rubbed  his 
head  against  her  arm  and  hand  when  she  came  down  ;  and 
looked  up,  and  whined  almost  inaudibly. 

"  You  are  going  out,  Bras  ;  and  you  must  be  a  good  dog, 
and  not  try  to  run  after  the  deer.  Then  I  will  send  a  very 
good  story  of  you  to  Mairi ;  and  when  she  comes  to  London, 
after  the  harvest  is  over,  she  will  bring  you  a  present  from 
the  Lewis,  and  you  will  be  very  proud." 

She  went  out  into  the  square,  and  was  perhaps  a  little 
glad  to  get  away  from  it,  as  she  was  not  sure  of  the  blue 
dress  and  the  small  hat  with  its  sea-gull's  feather  being 
precisely  the  costume  she  ought  to  wear.  When  she  got 
into  the  Uxbridge  Eoad  she  breathed  more  freely  ;  and  in 
the  lightness  of  her  heart  she  continued  her  conversation 
with  Bras,  giving  that  attentive  animal  a  vast  amount  of 
information,  partly  in  English,  partly  in  Gaelic,  which  he 
only  answered  by  a  low  whine  or  a  shake  of  his  shaggy 
head. 

But  these  confidences  were  suddenly  interrupted.  She 
had  got  down  to  Addison  Terrace,  and  was  contentedly 
looking  at  the  trees  and  chatting  to  the  dog,  when  by 
accident  her  eye  happened  to  light  on  a  brougham  that  was 
driving  past.  In  it — she  beheld  them  both  clearly  for  a 
brief  second — were  her  husband  and  Mrs.  Lorraine,  engaged 
in  conversation,  so  that  neither  of  them  saw  her.  Sheila 
stood  on  the  pavement  for  a  couple  of  minutes,  absolutely 


BY  THE  WATERS  OF  BABYLON  207 

bewildered.  All  sorts  of  wild  fancies  and  recollections  came 
crowding  in  upon  her — reasons  why  her  husband  was  un- 
willing that  she  should  visit  his  studio — why  Mrs.  Lorraine 
never  called  on  her — and  so  forth,  and  so  forth.  She  did 
not  know  what  to  think  for  a  time  ;  but  presently  all  this 
tumult  was  stilled  ;  and  she  had  bravely  resolved  her  doubts 
and  made  up  her  mind  as  to  what  she  should  do.  She  could 
not  suspect  her  husband — that  was  the  one  sweet  security 
to  which  she  clung.  He  had  made  use  of  no  duplicity  ;  if 
there  was  anything  wrong — and  perhaps  she  committed  a 
great  injustice  in  even  imagining  such  a  possibility — he,  at 
least,  was  certainly  not  in  fault.  And  if  this  Mrs.  Lorraine 
should  amuse  him  and  interest  him,  who  could  grudge  him 
this  break  in  the  monotony  of  his  work  ?  Sheila  knew 
that  she  herself  disliked  going  to  those  fashionable  gatherings 
to  which  Mrs.  Lorraine  went,  and  to  which  Lavender  had 
been  accustomed  to  go  before  he  was  married.  How  could 
she  expect  him  to  give  up  all  his  old  habits  and  pleasures 
for  her  sake  ?  She  would  be  more  reasonable  and  more 
generous.  It  was  her  own  fault  that  she  was  not  a  better 
companion  for  him  ;  and  was  it  for  her,  then,  to  think 
hardly  of  him  because  he  went  to  the  Park  with  a  friend 
instead  of  going  alone  ? 

Yet  there  was  a  great  bitterness  and  grief  in  her  heart  as 
she  turned  and  walked  on.  She  spoke  no  more  to  the  deer- 
hound  by  her  side.  There  seemed  to  be  less  sunlight  in  the 
air  ;  and  the  people  and  carriages  passing  were  hardly  so 
busy  and  cheerful  and  interesting  as  they  had  been.  But 
all  the  same,  she  would  go  to  Richmond  Park,  and  by  her- 
self ;  for  what  was  the  use  of  calling  in  at  the  studio  ;  and 
how  could  she  go  back  home  and  sit  in  the  house,  knowing 
that  her  husband  was  away  at  some  flower-show,  or  morning 
concert,  or  some  such  thing,  with  that  young  American 
lady? 

She  knew  no  other  road  to  Richmond  than  that  by  which 
they  had  driven  shortly  after  her  arrival  in  London  ;  and  so 
it  was  that  she  went  down  and  over  Hammersmith  Bridge, 
and  round  by  Mortlake,  and  so  on  by  East  Sheen.  The  road 
seemed  terribly  long.  She  was  an  excellent  walker,  and  in 
ordinary  circumstances  would  have  done  the  distance  without 
fatigue  ;  but  when  at  length  she  saw  the  gates  of  the  Park 


208  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

before  her,  she  was  at  once  exceedingly  tired,  and  almost 
faint  from  hunger.  Here  was  the  hotel  in  which  they  had 
dined  ;  should  she  enter  ?  The  place  seemed  very  grand  and 
forbidding  :  she  had  scarcely  even  looked  at  it  as  she  went 
up  the  steps  with  her  husband  by  her  side.  However,  she 
would  venture  ;  and  accordingly  she  went  up  and  into  the 
vestibule,  looking  rather  timidly  about.  A  young  gentleman, 
apparently  not  a  servant,  approached  her,  and  seemed  to  wait 
for  her  to  speak.  It  was  a  terrible  moment.  What  was  she 
to  ask  for,  and  could  she  ask  it  of  this  young  man  ?  Fortu- 
nately he  spoke  first,  and  asked  her  if  she  wished  to  go  into 
the  coffee-room,  and  if  she  expected  anyone. 

"  No,  I  do  not  expect  anyone,"  she  said,  and  she  knew 
that  he  would  perceive  the  peculiarity  of  her  accent ;  "  but 
if  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  tell  me  where  I  may  have  a 
biscuit " 

It  occurred  to  her  that  to  go  into  the  Star  and  Garter  for 
a  biscuit  was  absurd  ;  and  she  added,  wildly — 

" or  anything  to  eat." 

The  young  man  obviously  regarded  her  with  some  surprise  : 
but  he  was  very  courteous,  and  showed  her  into  the  coffee- 
room,  and  called  a  waiter  to  her.  Moreover,  he  gave  per- 
mission for  Bras  to  be  admitted  into  the  room,  Sheila  pro- 
mising that  he  would  lie  under]  the  table  and  not  budge  an 
inch.  Then  she  looked  round.  There  were  only  three  persons 
in  the  room ;  one  an  old  lady  seated  by  herself  in  a  far 
corner,  the  other  two  being  a  couple  of  young  folks  too  much 
engrossed  with  each  other  to  mind  anyone  else.  She  began 
to  feel  more  at  home.  The  waiter  suggested  various  things 
for  lunch ;  and  she  made  her  choice  of  something  cold. 
Then  she  mustered  up  courage  to  ask  for  a  glass  of  sherry. 
How  she  would  have  enjoyed  all  this  as  a  story  to  tell  to  her 
husband  but  for  that  incident  of  the  morning  !  She  would 
have  gloried  in  her  outward  bravery  :  and  made  him  smile 
with  a  description  of  her  inward  terror.  She  would  have 
written  about  it  to  the  old  King  of  Borva,  and  bid  him  con- 
sider how  she  had  been  transformed,  and  what  strange  scenes 
Bras  was  now  witnessing.  But  all  that  was  over.  She  felt 
as  if  she  could  no  longer  ask  her  husband  to  be  amused  by 
her  childish  experiences  ;  and  as  for  writing  to  her  father, 
she  dared  not  write  to  him  in  her  present  mood.  Perhaps 


BY  THE  WATERS  OF  BABYLON  209 

some  happier  time  would  come.  Sheila  paid  her  bill.  She 
had  heard  her  husband  and  Mr.  Ingram  talk  about  tipping 
•waiters,  and  knew  that  she  ought  to  give  something  to  the 
man  who  had  attended  on  her.  But  how  much  ?  He  was  a 
very  august-looking  person,  with  formally-cut  whiskers,  and  a 
severe  expression  of  face.  "When  he  had  brought  the  change 
to  her  she  timidly  selected  a  half-crown,  and  offered  it  to  him. 
There  was  a  little  glance  of  surprise  ;  she  feared  she  had  not 
given  him  enough.  Then  he  said,  "  Thank  you ! "  in  a 
vague  and  distant  fashion,  and  she  was  sure  she  had  not 
given  him  enough.  But  it  was  too  late.  Bras  was  sum- 
moned from  beneath  the  table  ;  and  again  she  went  out  into 
the  fresh  air. 

"  Oh,  my  good  dog  ! "  she  said  to  him,  as  they  together 
walked  up  to  the  gates  and  into  the  Park,  "  this  is  a  very 
extravagant  country.  You  have  to  pay  half-a-crown  to  a 
servant  for  bringing  you  a  piece  of  cold  pie,  and  then  he 
looks  as  if  he  was  not  paid  enough.  And  Duncan,  who  will  do 
everything  about  the  house,  and  will  give  us  all  our  dinners, 
it  is  only  a  pound  a  week  he  will  get,  and  Scarlett  has  to  be 
kept  out  of  that.  And  wouldn't  you  like  to  see  poor  old 
Scarlett  again  ?  " 

Bras  whined  as  if  he  understood  every  word. 

"  I  suppose  now  she  is  hanging  out  the  washing  on  the 
gooseberry  bushes,  and  you  know  the  song  she  always  used  to 
sing  then  ?  Don't  you  know  that  Scarlett  carried  me  about 
long  before  you  were  born,  for  you  are  a  mere  infant  com- 
pared to  me,  and  she  used  to  sing  to  me — 

'Ged'  bheirte  mi'  bho'n  bhas  so 
Mho  Sheila  bheag  eg* ! ' 

And  that  is  what  she  is  singing  just  now  ;  and  Mairi  she  is 
bringing  the  things  out  of  the  washing-house.  Papa  he  is 
over  in  Stornoway  this  morning,  arranging  his  accounts  with 
the  people  there,  and  perhaps  he  is  down  at  the  quay,  looking 
at  the  Clansman,  and  wondering  when  she  is  to  bring  me 
into  the  harbour.  Ah — h  !  You  bad  dog." 

Bras  had  forgotten  to  listen  to  his  mistress  in  the  excite- 
ment of  seeing  in  the  distance  a  large  herd  of  deer  under 
certain  trees.  She  felt  by  the  leash  that  he  was  trembling 
in  every  limb  with  expectation,  and  straining  hard  on  the 

p 


2io  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

collar.  Again  and  again  she  admonished  him — in  vain ; 
until  she  had  at  last  to  drag  him  away  down  the  hill,  putting 
a  small  plantation  between  him  and  the  herd.  Here  she 
found  a  large,  umbrageous  chestnut  tree,  with  a  wooden  seat 
round  its  trunk,  and  so  she  sat  down  in  the  green  twilight  of 
the  leaves,  while  Bras  came  and  put  his  head  in  her  lap. 
Out  beyond  the  shadow  of  the  tree  all  the  world  lay,  bathed 
in  sunlight ;  and  a  great  silence  brooded  over  the  long  undu- 
lations of  the  Park,  where  not  a  human  being  was  in  sight. 
How  strange  it  was,  she  fell  to  thinking,  that  within  a  short 
distance  there  were  millions  of  men  and  women,  while  here 
she  was  absolutely  alone.  Did  they  not  care,  then,  for  the 
sunlight,  and  the  trees,  and  the  sweet  air  ?  Were  they  so 
wrapped  up  in  those  social  observances  that  seemed  to  her  so 
barren  of  interest  ? 

"  They  have  a  beautiful  country  here,"  she  said,  talking 
in  a  rambling  and  wistful  way  to  Bras,  and  scarcely  noticing 
the  eager  light  in  his  eyes,  as  if  he  were  trying  to  understand. 
"  They  have  no  rain,  and  no  fog  ;  almost  always  blue  skies, 
and  the  clouds  high  up  and  far  away.  And  the  beautiful 
trees  they  have  too — you  never  saw  anything  like  that  in  the 
Lewis — not  even  at  Stomoway.  And  the  people  are  so  rich, 
and  beautiful  in  their  dress,  and  all  the  day  they  have  only 
to  think  how  to  enjoy  themselves,  and  what  new  amusement 
is  for  the  morrow.  But  I  think  they  are  tired  of  having 
nothing  to  do — or  perhaps,  you  know,  they  are  tired  because 
they  have  nothing  to  fight  against — no  hard  weather,  and 
hunger,  and  poverty.  They  do  not  care  for  each  other  as 
they  would  if  they  were  working  on  the  same  farm,  and 
trying  to  save  up  for  the  winter  ;  or  if  they  were  going  out 
to  the  fishing,  and  very  glad  to  come  home  again  from  Caith- 
ness to  find  all  the  old  people  very  well,  and  the  young  ones 
ready  for  a  dance,  and  a  dram,  and  much  joking  and  laugh- 
ing and  telling  of  stories.  It  is  a  very  great  difference  there 
will  be  in  the  people — very  great." 

She  rose,  and  looked  pensively  around  her,  and  then 
turned  with  a  sigh  to  make  her  way  to  the  gates.  It  was 
with  no  especial  sort  of  gladness  that  she  thought  of  return- 
ing home.  Here,  in  the  great  silence,  she  had  been  able  to 
dream  of  the  far  island  which  she  knew,  and  to  fancy  herself 
for  a  few  minutes  there  ;  now  she  was  going  back  to  the 


B Y  THE  WA TERS  OF  BABYLON        .      211 

dreary  monotony  of  her  life  in  that  square,  and  to  the  doubts 
and  anxieties  which  had  been  suggested  to  her  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  world  she  was  about  to  enter  once  more  seemed 
so  much  less  homely,  so  much  less  full  of  interest  and  pur- 
pose, than  that  other  and  distant  world  she  had  been  wist- 
fully regarding  for  a  time.  The  people  around  her  had 
neither  the  joys  nor  the  sorrows  with  which  she  had  been 
taught  to  sympathise.  Their  cares  seemed  to  her  to  be 
exaggerations  of  trifles  ;  she  could  feel  no  pity  for  them, 
their  satisfaction  was  derived  from  sources  unintelligible  to 
her.  And  the  social  atmosphere  around  her  seemed  still,  and 
close,  and  suffocating  ;  so  that  she  was  like  to  cry  out  at 
times  for  one  breath  of  God's  clear  wind — for  a  shaft  of 
lightning  even — to  cut  through  the  sultry  and  drowsy  same- 
ness of  her  life. 

She  had  almost  forgotten  the  dog  by  her  side.     While 
sitting  under  the  chestnut  she  had  carelessly  and  loosely 
wound  the  leash  round  his  neck,  in  the  semblance  of  a 
collar ;  and  when  she  rose  and  came  away,  she  let  the  dog 
walk  by  her  side   without  undoing  the   leash  and  taking 
proper  charge  of  him.     She  was  thinking  of  far  other  things, 
Avhen  she  was  startled  by  some  one  calling  to  her — 
"  Look  out,  Miss,  or  you'll  have  your  dog  shot !  " 
She  turned,  and  caught  a  glimpse  of  that  which  sent  a 
thrill  of  terror  to  her  heart.     Bras  had  sneaked  off  from  her 
side — had  trotted  lightly  over  the  breckans,  and  was  now  in 
full  chase  of  a  herd  of  deer  which  were  flying  down  the  slope 
on  the  other  side  of  the  plantation.     He  rushed  now  at  one, 
now  at  another ;  the  very  number  of  chances  presented  to 
him  proving  the  safety  of  the  whole  herd.     But  as  Sheila, 
with  a  swift  flight  that  would  have  astonished  most  town- 
bred  girls,  followed  the  wild  chase  and  came  to  the  crest  of 
the  slope,  she  could  see  that  the  hound  had  at  length  singled 
out  a  particular  deer — a  fine  buck  with  handsome  horns,  that 
was  making  straight  for  the  foot  of  the  valley.     The  herd, 
that  had  been  much  scattered,  were  now  drawing  together 
again,  though  checking  nothing  of   their  speed ;  but  this 
single  buck  had  been  driven  from  his  companions,  and  was 
doing  his  utmost  to  escape  from  the  fangs  of  the  powerful 
animal  behind  him. 

What  could  she  do  but  run  wildly  and  breathlessly  on  ? 

p  2 


212  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

The  dog  was  now  far  beyond  the  reach  of  her  voice.  She 
had  no  whistle.  All  sorts  of  fearful  anticipations  rushed  in 
on  her  mind — the  most  prominent  of  all  being  the  anger  of 
her  father  if  Bras  were  shot.  How  could  she  go  back  to 
Borva  with  such  a  tale  ;  and  how  could  she  live  in  London 
without  this  companion  who  had  come  with  her  from  the  far 
north  ?  Then  what  terrible  things  were  connected  with  the 
killing  of  a  deer  in  a  Koyal  Park  ?  She  remembered  vaguely 
what  Mr.  Ingram  and  her  husband  had  been  saying  ;  and 
while  these  things  were  crowding  in  upon  her,  she  felt  her 
strength  beginning  to  fail,  while  both  the  dog  and  the  deer 
had  disappeared  altogether  from  sight. 

Strange,  too,  that  in  the  midst  of  her  fatigue  and  fright, 
while  she  still  managed  to  struggle  on,  with  a  sharp  pain  at 
her  heart  and  a  sort  of  mist  before  her  eyes,  she  had  a  vague 
consciousness  that  her  husband  would  be  vexed,  not  by  the 
conduct  or  the  fate  of  Bras,  but  by  her  being  the  heroine  of 
so  mad  an  adventure.  She  knew  that  he  wished  her  to  be 
serious,  and  subdued,  and  proper,  like  the  ladies  whom  she 
met ;  while  an  evil  destiny  seemed  to  dog  her  footsteps  and 
precipitate  her  into  all  sorts  of  erratic  mishaps  and  "  scenes." 
However,  this  adventure  was  likely  soon  to  have  an  end. 

She  could  go  no  further.  Whatever  had  become  of  Bras, 
it  was  in  vain  for  her  to  think  of  pursuing  him.  When  she 
at  length  reached  a  broad  and  smooth  road  leading  through 
the  pasture,  she  could  only  stand  still  and  press  her  two  hands 
over  her  heart,  while  her  head  seemed  giddy,  and  she  did  not 
see  two  men  who  had  been  standing  on  the  road  close  by 
until  they  came  up  and  addressed  her. 

Then  she  started,  and  looked  round  ;  finding  before  her 
two  men  who  were  apparently  labourers  of  some  sort,  one  of 
them  having  a  shovel  over  his  shoulder. 

"  Beg  your  pardon,  Miss,  but  wur  that  your  dawg  ?  " 
"  Yes,"  she  said,  eagerly.     "  Could  you  get  it  ?     Did  you 
see  him  go  by  ?     Do  you  know  where  he  is  ?  " 

"  Me  and  my  mate  saw  him  go  by,  sure  enough  ;  but  as  for 

getting  him — why,  the  keepers  '11  have  shot  him  by  this  time." 

"  Oh  no  !  "  cried  Sheila,  almost  in  tears,  "  they  must  not 

shoot  him.    It  was  my  fault.    I  will  pay  them  for  all  the  harm 

he  has  done.     Can't  you  tell  me  which  way  he  went  past  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think,  Miss,"  said  the  spokesman,  quite  respect- 


BY  THE  WATERS  OF  BABYLON  213 

fully,  "  as  you  can  go  much  furder.  If  you  would  sit  down, 
and  rest  yourself,  and  keep  an  eye  on  this  'ere  shovel,  me  and 
my  mate  will  have  a  hunt  arter  the  dawg." 

Sheila  not  only  accepted  the  offer  gratefully,  but  promised 
to  give  them  all  the  money  she  had  if  only  they  would  bring 
back  the  hound  unharmed.  Then  the  men  went  their  way. 
It  was  a  hard  thing  to  wait  here,  in  the  greatest  doubt  and 
uncertainty,  while  the  afternoon  was  visibly  waning.  She 
began  to  grow  afraid.  Perhaps  the  men  had  stolen  the  dog, 
and  left  her  with  this  shovel  as  a  blind.  Her  husband  must 
have  come  home  ;  and  would  be  astonished  and  perplexed 
by  her  absence.  Surely  he  would  have  the  sense  to  dine  by 
himself,  instead  of  waiting  for  her  ;  and  she  reflected  with 
some  glimpse  of  satisfaction,  that  she  had  left  everything 
connected  with  dinner  properly  arranged,  so  that  he  should 
have  nothing  to  grumble  at. 

Her  reverie  was  interrupted  by  the  sound  of  footsteps  on 
the  grass  behind  ;  and  she  turned  quickly,  to  find  the  two 
men  approaching  her,  one  of  them  leading  the  captive  Bras 
by  the  leash.  Sheila  sprang  to  her  feet  with  a  great  gladness. 
She  did  not  care  even  to  accuse  the  culprit,  whose  con- 
sciousness of  guilt  was  evident  in  his  look  and  in  the  droop 
of  his  tail.  Bras  did  not  once  turn  his  eyes  to  his  mistress. 
He  hung  down  his  head,  while  he  panted  rapidly,  and  she 
fancied  she  saw  some  smearing  of  blood  on  his  tongue  and 
on  the  side  of  his  jaw.  Her  fears  on  this  head  were  speedily 
confirmed. 

"  I  think,  Miss,  as  you'd  better  take  him  out  o'  the  Park 
as  soon  as  maybe  ;  for  he's  got  a  deer  killed  close  by  the  Robin 
Hood  Gate,  in  the  trees  there,  and  if  the  keepers  happen 
on  it  afore  you  leave  the  Park,  you'll  get  into  trouble." 

"  Oh,  thank  you,"  said  Sheila,  retaining  her  composure 
bravely,  but  with  a  terrible  sinking  of  the  heart ;  and  "  how 
can  I  get  to  the  nearest  railway  station  ?  " 

"  You're  going  to  London,  Miss  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Well,  I  suppose  the  nearest  is  Eichmond  ;  but  it  would 
be  quieter  for  you,  don't  you  see,  Miss,  if  you  was  to  go 
along  to  the  Roehampton  Gate  and  go  to  Barnes." 

"  Will  you  show  me  the  gate  ?  "  said  Sheila,  choosing  the 
quieter  route  at  once. 


214  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

But  the  men  themselves  did  not  at  all  like  the  look  of 
accompanying  her  and  this  dog  through  the  Park.  Had 
they  not  already  compounded  a  felony,  or  done  something 
equally  dreadful,  in  handing  to  her  a  dog  that  had  been 
found  keeping  watch  and  ward  over  a  slain  buck  ?  They 
showed  her  the  road  to  the  Roehampton  Gate  ;  and  then 
they  paused  before  continuing  on  their  journey. 

The  pause  meant  money.  Sheila  took  out  her  purse. 
There  were  three  sovereigns  and  some  silver  in  it ;  and  the 
entire  sum,  in  fulfilment  of  her  promise,  she  held  out  to  him 
who  had  so  far  conducted  the  negotiations. 

Both  men  looked  frightened.  It  was  quite  clear  that 
either  good  feeling  or  some  indefinite  fear  of  being  implicated 
in  the  killing  of  the  deer  caused  them  to  regard  this  big 
bribe  as  something  they  could  not  meddle  with  ;  and  at 
length,  after  a  pause  of  a  second  or  two,  the  spokesman  said, 
with  great  hesitation — • 

"  Well,  Miss,  you've  kep'  your  word  ;  but  me  and  my 
mate — well,  if  so  be  as  it's  the  same  to  you,  'd  rather  have 
summut  to  drink  your  health " 

"  Do  you  think  it  is  too  much  ?  " 

The  man  looked  at  his  neighbour,  who  nodded. 

"  It  was  only  for  ketchin'  of  a  dawg,  Miss,  don't  you 
see  ?  "  he  remarked,  slowly,  as  if  to  impress  upon  her  that 
they  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  deer. 

"  Will  you  take  this  then  ?  "  and  she  offered  them  half-a- 
crown  each. 

Their  faces  lightened  considerably  ;  they  took  the  money  ; 
and,  with  a  formal  expression  of  thanks,  moved  off — but  not 
before  they  had  taken  a  glance  round  to  see  that  no  one  had 
been  a  witness  of  this  interview. 

And  so  Sheila  had  to  walk  away  by  herself,  knowing  that 
she  had  been  guilty  of  a  dreadful  offence,  and  that  at  any 
moment  she  might  be  arrested  by  the  officers  of  the  law. 
What  would  the  old  King  of  Borva  say  if  he  saw  his  only 
daughter  in  the  hands  of  two  policemen  ;  and  would  not  all 
Mr.  Lavender's  fastidious  and  talkative  and  wondering 
friends  pass  about  the  newspaper  report  of  her  trial  and 
conviction  !  A  man  was  approaching  her.  As  he  drew 
near  her  heart  failed  her ;  for  might  not  this  be  the  mys- 
terious George  Ranger  himself,  about  whom  her  husband 


BY  THE  WATERS  OF  BABYLON  215 

and  Mr.  Ingram  had  been  talking  ?  Should  she  drop  on 
her  knees  at  once,  and  confess  her  sins,  and  beg  him  to  let 
her  off  ?  If  Duncan  were  with  her,  or  Mairi,  or  even  old 
Scarlett  Macdonald,  she  would  not  have  cared  so  much  : 
but  it  seemed  so  terrible  to  meet  this  man  alone. 

However,  as  he  drew  near  he  did  not  seem  a  fierce  person. 
He  was  an  old  gentleman,  with  voluminous  white  hair,  who 
was  dressed  all  in  black,  and  carried  an  umbrella  on  this 
warm  and  bright  afternoon.  He  regarded  her  and  the  dog 
in  a  distant  and  contemplative  fashion,  as  though  he  would 
probably  try  to  remember  them  some  time  after  he  had  really 
seen  them  ;  and  then  he  passed  on.  Sheila  began  to  breathe 
more  freely.  Moreover,  here  was  the  gate  :  and  once  she 
was  in  the  high  road,  who  could  say  anything  to  her  ?  .Tired 
as  she  was.  she  still  walked  rapidly  on  ;  and  in  due  time, 
having  had  to  ask  the  way  once  or  twice, -she  found  herself 
at  Barnes  station. 

By  and  by  the  train  came -in  ;  Bras  was  committed  to  the 
care  of  the  guard  ;  and  she  found  herself  alone  in  a  railway 
carriage,  for  the  first  time  in  her  life.  Her  husband  had 
told  her  that  whenever  she  felt  uncertain  of  her  whereabouts, 
if  in  the  country,  she  was  to  ask  for  the  nearest  station  and 
get  a  train  to  London  ;  if  in  town,  she  was  to  get  into  a  cab 
and  give  the  driver  her  address.  And,  indeed,  Sheila  had  been 
so  much  agitated  and  perplexed  during  this  afternoon,  that 
she  acted  in  a  sort  of  mechanical  fashion,  and  really  escaped  the 
nervousness  which  otherwise  would  have  attended  the  novel 
experience  of  purchasing  a  ticket  and  of  arranging  about  the 
carriage  of  a  dog  in  the  break-van.  Even  now,  when  she 
found  herself  travelling  alone,  and  shortly  to  arrive  at  a  part 
of  London  she  had  never  seen,  her  crowding  thoughts  and 
fancies  were  not  about  her  own  situation,  but  about  the 
reception  she  should  receive  from  her  husband.  Would  he 
be  vexed  with  her  ?  Or  pity  her  ?  Had  he  called,  with  Mrs. 
Lorraine,  to  take  her  somewhere,  and  found  her  gone  ? 
Had  he  brought  home  some  bachelor  friends  to  dinner,  and 
been  chagrined  to  find  her  not  in  the  house  ? 

It  was  getting  dusk  when  the  slow  four-wheeler  approached 
Sheila's  home.  The  hour  for  dinner  had  long  gone  by.  Per- 
haps her  husband  had  gone  away  somewhere  looking  for  her, 
and  she  would  find  the  house  empty. 


216  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

But  Frank  Lavender  came  to  meet  his  wife  in  the  hall, 
and  said — 

"  Where  have  you  been  ?  " 

She  could  not  tell  whether  there  was  anger  or  kindness  in 
his  voice  ;  and  she  could  not  well  see  his  face.  She  took 
his  hand,  and  went  into  the  dining-room,  which  was  also  in 
dusk,  and,  standing  there,  told  him  all  her  story. 

"  By  Jove  !  "  he  said  impatiently.  "  I'll  go  and  thrash 
that  dog  within  an  inch  of  its  life." 

"  No,"  she  said,  drawing  herself  up ;  and  for  one  brief 
second — could  he  but  have  seen  her  face — there  was  a  touch 
of  old  Mackenzie's  pride  and  firmness  about  the  ordinarily 
gentle  lips.  It  was  but  for  a  second.  She  cast  down  her 
eyes,  and  said,  meekly,  "  I  hope  you  won't  do  that,  Frank. 
The  dog  is  not  to  blame.  It  was  my  fault." 

"  Well,  really,  Sheila,"  he  said,  "  don't  you  think  you  are 
a  little  thoughtless  ?  I  wish  you  would  try  to  act  as  other 
women  act,  instead  of  constantly  putting  yourself  and  me 
into  the  most  awkward  positions.  Suppose  I  had  brought 
any  one  home  to  dinner  now  ?  And  what  am  I  to  say  to 
Ingram  ? — for  of  course  I  went  direct  to  his  lodgings  when 
I  discovered  you  were  nowhere  to  be  found.  I  fancied  some 
mad  freak  had  taken  you  there  ;  and  I  should  not  have  been 
surprised.  Do  you  know  who  was  in  the  hall  when  I  came 
in  this  afternoon  ?  " 

"No,"  said  Sheila. 

"  Why,  that  wretched  old  hag  who  keeps  the  fruit-stall. 
And  it  seems  you  gave  her  and  all  her  family  tea  and  cake 
in  the  kitchen  last  night." 

It  was  certainly  not  the  expense  of  these  charities  that  he 
objected  to.  He  was  himself  recklessly  generous  in  such 
things.  He  would  have  given  a  sovereign  where  Sheila 
gave  a  shilling  ;  but  that  Avas  a  different  matter  from  having 
his  wife  almost  associate  with  such  people. 

"  She  is  a  poor  old  woman,"  said  Sheila,  humbly. 

"  A  poor  old  woman  !  "  he  said.  "  I  have  no  doubt  she 
is  a  lying  old  thief,  who  would  take  an  umbrella  or  a  coat  if 
only  she  could  get  the  chance.  It  is  really  too  bad,  Sheila, 
your  having  all  those  persons  about  you,  and  demeaning 
yourself  by  attending  on  them.  What  must  the  servants 
think  of  you  J  " 


BY  THE  WATERS  OF  BABYLON  217 

"  I  do  not  heed  what  any  servants  think  of  me,"  she  said. 

She  was  now  standing  erect,  with  her  face  quite  calm. 

"  Apparently  not !  "  he  said.  "  Or  you  would  not  go  and 
make  yourself  ridiculous  before  them." 

Sheila  hesitated  for  a  moment,  as  if  she  did  not  under- 
stand ;  and  then  she  said,  as  calmly  as  before,  but  with  a 
touch  of  indignation  about  the  proud  and  beautiful  lips — 

"And  if  I  make  myself  ridiculous  by  attending  to  poor 
people,  it  is  not  my  husband  who  should  tell  me  so." 

She  turned  and  walked  out,  and  he  was  too  surprised  to 
follow  her.  She  went  upstairs  to  her  own  room,  locked 
herself  in,  and  threw  herself  on  the  bed.  And  then  all  the 
bitterness  of  her  heart  rose  up  as  if  in  a  flood — not  against 
him,  but  against  the  country  in  which  he  lived,  and  the 
society  which  had  contaminated  him,  and  the  ways  and 
habits  that  seemed  to  create  a  barrier  between  herself  and 
him,  so  that  she  was  almost  a  stranger  to  him,  and  incapable 
of  becoming  anything  else.  It  was  a  fault  that  she  should 
interest  herself  in  the  unfortunate  creatures  round  about 
her ;  that  the  should  talk  to  them  as  if  they  were  human 
beings  like  herself,  and  have  a  great  sympathy  with  their 
small  hopes  and  aims ;  but  she  would  not  have  been  led 
into  such  a  fault  if  she  had  cultivated  from  her  infancy 
upwards  a  consistent  self-indulgence,  making  herself  the 
centre  of  a  world  of  mean  desires  and  petty  gratifications. 
And  then  she  thought  of  the  old  and  beautiful  days  up  in 
the  Lewis,  where  the  young  English  stranger  seemed  to 
approve  of  her  simple  ways  and  her  charitable  work,  and 
where  she  was  taught  to  believe  that,  in  order  to  please  him, 
she  had  only  to  continue  to  be  what  she  was  then.  There 
was  no  great  gulf  of  time  between  that  period  and  this  ;  but 
what  had  not  happened  in  the  interval !  She  had  not 
changed — at  least  she  hoped  she  had  not  changed.  She 
loved  her  husband  with  her  whole  heart  and  soul ;  her 
devotion  was  as  true  and  constant  as  she  herself  could  have 
wished  it  to  be  when  she  dreamed  of  the  duties  of  a  wife  in 
the  days  of  her  maidenhood.  But  all  around  she  was  changed. 
She  had  no  longer  the  old  freedom — the  old  delight  in 
living  from  day  to  day — the  active  work,  and  the  enjoyment 
of  seeing  where  she  could  help,  and  how  she  could  help,  the 
people  around  her.  When,  as  if  by  the  same  sort  of  instinct 


21 8  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

that  makes  a  wild  animal  retain  in  captivity  the  habits 
which  were  necessary  to  its  existence  when  it  lived  in 
freedom,  she  began  to  find  out  the  circumstances  of  such 
unfortunate  people  as  were  in  her  neighbourhood,  some 
little  solace  was  given  to  her  ;  but  these  people  were  not 
friends  to  her,  as  the  poor  folk  of  Borvabost  had  been. 
She  knew,  too,  that  her  husband  Avould  be  displeased  if  he 
found  her  talking  with  a  washerwoman  over  the  poor 
creature's  family  matters,  or  even  advising  one  of  her  own 
servants  about  the  disposal  of  her  wages  ;  so  that  while  she 
concealed  nothing  from  him,  these  things  nevertheless  had  to 
be  done  exclusively  in  his  absence.  And  was  she,  in  so 
doing,  really  making  herself  ridiculous  ?  Did  he  consider 
her  ridiculous  ?  Or  was  it  not  merely  the  fatal  influences 
of  the  indolent  society  in  which  he  lived  that  had  poisoned 
his  mind,  and  drawn  him  away  from  her  as  though  into 
another  world  ? 

Alas  !  if  he  were  in  that  other  world,  was  not  she  quite 
alone  ?  What  companionship  was  there  possible  between  her 
and  the  people  in  this  new  and  strange  land  into  which  she 
had  ventured  ?  As  she  lay  on  the  bed,  with  her  head  hidden 
down  in  the  darkness,  the  pathetic  wail  of  the  captive  Jews 
seemed  to  come  and  go  through  the  bitterness  of  her 
thoughts,  like  some  mournful  refrain  :  "  By  the  rivers  of 
Babylon,  there  we  sat  down,  yea,  ive  wept,  when  we  remembered 
Zion"  She  almost  heard  the  words  ;  and  the  reply  that 
rose  up  to  her  heart  was  a  great  yearning  to  go  back  to  her 
own  land,  so  that  her  eyes  were  filled  with  tears,  in  thinking 
of  it,  and  she  lay  and  sobbed  there,  in  the  dusk.  Would 
not  the  old  man,  living  all  by  himself  in  that  lonely  island, 
be  glad  to  see  his  little  girl  back  again  in  the  old  house  ? 
and  she  would  sing  to  him  as  she  used  to  sing,  not  as  she 
had  been  singing  to  those  people  whom  her  husband  knew. 
"  For  there  they  that  carried  us  atvay  captive  required  of  us  a 
song ;  and  they  that  wasted  us  required  of  us  mirth,  saying, 
Sing  us  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion"  And  she  had  sung  in  the 
strange  land,  among  the  strange  people,  with  her  heart 
breaking  with  thoughts  of  the  sea,  and  the  hills,  and  the 
rude  and  sweet  and  simple  ways  of  the  old  bygone  life  she 
had  left  behind  her. 

"  Sheila  ! " 


BY  THE  WATERS  OF  BABYLON  219 

She  thought  it  was  her  father  calling  to  her,  and  she  rose 
with  a  cry  of  joy.  For  one  wild  moment  she  fancied  that 
outside  were  all  the  people  she  knew — Duncan,  and  Scarlett, 
and  Mairi — and  that  she  was  once  more  at  home,  with  the 
sea  all  around  her,  and  the  salt,  cold  air. 

"  Sheila,  I  want  to  speak  to  you." 

It  was  her  husband.  She  went  to  the  door,  opened  it,  and 
stood  there,  penitent  and  with  downcast  face. 

"  Come,  you  must  not  be  silly,"  he  said,  with  some 
kindness  in  his  voice.  "  You  have  had  no  dinner.  You 
must  be  hungry." 

"  I  do  not  care  for  any — there  is  no  use  troubling  the 
servants  when  I  would  rather  lie  down,"  she  said. 

"  The  servants  !  You  surely  don't  take  so  seriously  what 
I  said  about  them,  Sheila  ?  Of  course,  you  don't  need  to 
care  what  the  servants  think.  And  in  any  case  they  have 
to  bring  up  dinner  for  me,  so  you  may  as  well  come 
and  try." 

"  Have  you  not  had  dinner  ?  "  she  said,  timidly. 

"  Do  you  think  I  could  sit  down  and  eat  with  a  notion 
that  you  might  have  tumbled  into  the  Thames,  or  been 
kidnapped,  or  something  ?  " 

"  I  am  very  sorry,"  she  said,  in  a  low  voice  ;  and  in  the 
gloom  he  felt  his  hand  taken  and  carried  to  her  lips.  Then 
they  went  downstairs  into  the  -dining-room,  which  was  now 
lit  up  by  a  blaze  of  gas  and  candles. 

During  dinner,  of  course,  no  very  confidential  talking  was 
possible  ;  and,  indeed,  Sheila  had  plenty  to  tell  of  her 
adventures  at  Eichmond.  Lavender  was  now  in  a  more 
amiable  mood  ;  and  was  disposed  to  look  upon  the  killing  of 
the  buck  as  rather  a  good  joke.  He  complimented  Sheila 
on  her  good  sense  in  having  gone  in  to  the  Star  and  Garter 
for  lunch  ;  and  altogether  something  like  better  relations 
was  established  between  them. 

But  when  dinner  was  finally  over,  and  the  servants 
dismissed,  Lavender  placed  Sheila's  easy  chair  for  her  as 
usual,  drew  his  own  near  hers,  and  lit  a  cigarette. 

"  Now,  tell  me,  Sheila,"  he  said,  "  were  you  really  vexed 
with  me  when  you  went  upstairs  and  locked  yourself  in  your 
room  ?  Did  you  think  I  meant  to  displease  you,  or  say 
anything  harsh  to  you  ?  " 


220  A  PRINCESS  OP  THULE 

"  No,  not  any  of  those  things,"  she  said,  calmly  ;  "  I 
Avished  to  be  alone — to  think  over  what  had  happened. 
And  I  was  grieved  by  what  you  said ;  for  I  think  you 
cannot  help  looking  at  many  things  not  as  I  look  at  them 
— that  is  all.  It  is  my  bringing  up  in  the  Highlands, 
perhaps." 

"  Do  you  know,  Sheila,  it  sometimes  occurs  to  me  that 
you  are  not  quite  comfortable  here  ;  and  I  can't  make  out 
what  is  the  matter  !  I  think  you  have  a  perverse  fancy 
that  you  are  different  from  the  people  you  meet,  and  that 
you  cannot  be  like  them,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  Now, 
dear,  that  is  only  a  fancy.  There  need  be  no  difference,  if 
only  you  will  take  a  little  trouble." 

"  Oh,  Frank  !  "  she  said,  going  over  and  putting  her  hand 
on  his  shoulder,  "  I  cannot  take  that  trouble  !  I  cannot  try 
to  be  like  those  people.  And  I  see  a  great  difference  in  you 
since  you  have  come  back  to  London,  and  you  are  getting 
to  be  like  them,  and  say  the  things  they  say.  If  I  could 
only  see  you,  my  own  darling,  up  in  the  Lewis  again,  with 
rough  clothes  on,  and  a  gun  in  your  hand,  I  should  be 
happy.  You  were  yourself  up  there,  when  you  were  helping 
us  in  the  boat,  or  when  you  were  bringing  home  the  salmon, 
or  when  we  were  all  together  at  night  in  the  little  parlour, 
you  know " 

"  My  dear,  don't  get  so  excited.  Now  sit  down,  and  I 
will  tell  you  all  about  it.  You  seem  to  have  the  notion  that 
people  lose  all  their  finer  sentiments  simply  because  they 
don't,  in  society,  burst  into  raptures  over  them.  You 
mustn't  imagine  all  those  people  are  selfish  and  callous 
merely  because  they  preserve  a  decent  reticence.  To  tell 
you  the  truth,  that  constant  profession  of  noble  feelings 
you  would  like  to  see  would  have  something  of  ostentation 
about  it." 

Sheila  only  sighed. 

"  I  do  not  wish  them  to  be  altered,"  she  said,  by  and  by, 
with  her  eyes  grown  pensive  ;  "  all  I  know  is  that  I  could 
not  live  the  same  life.  And  you — you  seemed  to  be  happier 
up  in  the  Highlands  than  you  have  ever  been  since." 

"Well,  you  see,  a  man  ought  to  be  happy  when  he  is 
enjoying  a  holiday  in  the  country  along  with  the  girl  he  is 
engaged  to.  But  if  I  had  lived  all  my  life  killing  salmon  and 


BY  THE  WATERS  OF  BABYLON  221 

shooting  wild  duck,  I  should  have  grown  up  an  ignorant 
boor,  with  no  more  sense  of " 

He  stopped,  for  he  saw  that  the  girl  was  thinking  of 
her  father. 

"  "Well,  look  here,  Sheila.  You  see  how  you  are  placed— 
how  we  are  placed,  rather.  Wouldn't  it  be  more  sensible  to 
get  to  understand  those  people  you  look  askance  at,  and 
establish  better  relations  with  them,  since  you  have  got 
to  live  among  them  ?  I  can't  help  thinking  you  are  too 
much  alone,  and  you  can't  expect  me  to  stay  in  the  house 
always  with  you.  A  husband  and  wife  cannot  be  continually 
in  each  other's  company,  unless  they  want  to  grow  heartily 
tired  of  each  other.  Now  if  you  would  only  lay  aside  those 
suspicions  of  yours,  you  would  find  the  people  just  as  honest, 
and  generous,  and  friendly  as  any  other  sort  of  people  you 
ever  met,  although  they  don't  happen  to  be  fond  of  express- 
ing their  goodness  in  their  talk." 

"  I  have  tried,  dear — I  will  try  again,"  said  Sheila. 

She  was  resolved  that  she  would  go  down  and  visit  Mrs. 
Kavanagh  next  day,  and  try  to  be  interested  in  the  talk  of 
such  people  as  might  be  there.  She  would  bring  away  some 
story  about  this  or  the  other  fashionable  woman  or  noble 
lord,  just  to  show  her  husband  that  she  was  doing  her  best 
to  learn.  She  would  drive  patiently  round  the  park  in  that 
close  little  brougham,  and  listen  attentively  to  the  moralities 
of  Marcus  Aurelius.  She  would  make  an  appointment  to  go 
with  Mrs.  Lorraine  to  a  morning  concert.  All  these  things, 
and  many  more,  Sheila  silently  vowed  to  herself  she  would 
do,  while  her  husband  sat  and  expounded  to  her  his  theories 
of  the  obligations  which  society  demanded  of  its  members. 

But  her  plans  were  suddenly  broken  asunder. 

"  I  met  Mrs.  Lorraine  accidentally  to-day,"  he  said. 

It  was  his  first  mention  of  the  young  American  lady 
Sheila  sat  in  mute  expectation. 

"  She  always  asks  very  kindly  after  you." 

"  She  is  very  good." 

He  did  not  say,  however,  that  Mrs.  Lorraine  had  more 
than  once  made  distinct  propositions,  when  in  his  company, 
that  they  should  call  in  for  Sheila,  and  take  her  out  for  a 
drive,  or  to  a  flower-show,  or  some  such  place,  while  Laven- 
der had  always  some  excuse  ready. 


222  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"She  is  going  to  Brighton  to-niorrow,  and  she  was 
wondering  whether  you  would  care  to  run  down  for  a  day 
or  two." 

"  With  her  ?  "  said  Sheila,  recoiling  from  such  a  proposal 
nstinctively. 

"  Of  course  not.  I  should  go.  And  then  at  last,  you 
know,  you  would  see  the  sea,  about  which  you  have  been 
dreaming  for  ever  so  long." 

The  sea  !  There  was  a  magic  in  the  very  word  that  could 
almost  at  any  moment  summon  tears  into  her  eyes.  Of 
course,  she  accepted  right  gladly.  If  her  husband's  duties 
were  so  pressing  that  the  long-talked  of  journey  to  Lewis 
and  Borva  had  to  be  repeatedly  and  indefinitely  postponed, 
here  at  least  would  be  a  chance  of  looking  again  at  the  sea 
— of  drinking  in  the  freshness  and  light  and  colour  of  it — 
of  renewing  her  old  and  intimate  friendship  with  it,  that 
had  been  broken  off  for  so  long  by  her  stay  in  this  city  of 
perpetual  houses  and  still  sunshine. 

"  You  can  tell  her  you  will  go  when  you  see  her  to-night 
at  Lady  Mary's.  By  the  way,  isn't  it  time  for  you  to  begin 
to  dress  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Lady  Mary's,"  repeated  Sheila,  mechanically,  who 
had  forgotten  all  about  her  engagements  for  that  evening. 
"  Perhaps  you  are  too  tired  to  go,"  said  her  husband. 
She  was  a  little  tired,  in  truth.  But  surely,  just  after  her 
promises,  spoken  and  unspoken,  some  little  effort  was  de- 
manded of  her  ;  so  she  bravely  went  to  dress,  and  in  about 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  was  ready  to  drive  down  to  Curzon 
Street.  Her  husband  had  never  seen  her  look  so  pleased 
before  in  going  out  to  any  party.  He  flattered  himself  that 
his  lecture  had  done  her  good.  There  was  fair  common-sense 
in  what  he  had  said  ;  and  although,  doubtless,  a  girl's  roman- 
ticism, was  a  pretty  thing,  it  would  have  to  yield  to  the 
actual  requirements  of  life.  In  time  he  should  educate 
Sheila. 

But  he  did  not  know  what  brightened  the  girl's  face  all 
that  night,  and  put  a  new  life  into  the  beautiful  eyes,  so  that 
even  those  who  knew  her  best  were  struck  by  her  singular 
beauty.  It  was  the  sea  that  was  colouring  Sheila's  eyes. 
The  people  around  her,  the  glare  of  the  candles,  the  hum  of 
talking,  and  the  motion  of  certain  groups  dancing  over  there 


DEEPER  AND  DEEPER  223 

in  the  middle  of  the  throng — all  were  faint  and  visionary  ; 
for  she  was  busily  wondering  what  the  sea  would  be  like 
the  next  morning,  and  what  strange  fancies  would  strike 
her  when  once  more  she  walked  on  sand,  and  heard  the 
roar  of  waves.  That,  indeed,  was  the  sound  that  was  present 
in  her  ears,  while  the  music  played,  and  the  people  mur- 
mured around  her.  Mrs.  Lorraine  talked  to  her,  and  was 
surprised  :and  amused  to  notice  the  eager  fashion  in 
which  the  girl  spoke  of  their  journey  of  the  next  day.  The 
gentleman  who  took  her  into  supper  found  himself  catechised 
about  Brighton  in  a  manner  which  afforded  him  more 
occupation  than  enjoyment.  And  when  Sheila  drove  away 
from  the  house,  at  two  in  the  morning,  she  declared  to  her 
husband  that  she  had  enjoyed  herself  extremely,  and  he  was 
glad  to  hear  it ;  and  she  was  particularly  kind  to  himself 
in  getting  him  his  slippers,  and  fetching  him  that  final 
cigarette  which  he  always  had  on  reaching  home  ;  and  then 
she  went  off  to  bed  to  dream  of  ships,  and  flying  clouds,  and 
cold  winds,  and  a  great  and  beautiful  blue  plain  of  waves. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

DEEPER  AND  DEEPER. 

NEXT  morning  Sheila  was  busy  with  her  preparations  for 
departure  when  she  heard  a  hansom  drive  up.  She  looked 
from  the  window  and  saw  Mr.  Ingram  step  out ;  and, 
before  he  had  time  to  cross  the  pavement,  she  had  run 
round  and  opened  the  door,  and  stood  at  the  top  of  the 
steps  to  receive  him.  How  often  had  her  husband  cautioned 
her  not  forget  herself  in  this  monstrous  fashion  ! 

"  Did  you  think  I  had  run  away  ?  Have  you  come  to  see 
me  ?  "  she  said,  with  a  bright,  roseate  gladness  on  her  face 
which  reminded  him  of  many  a  pleasant  morning  in  Borva. 

"  I  did  not  think  you  had  run  away,  for  you  see  I  have 
brought  you  some  flowers,"  he  said  ;  but  there  was  a  sort  of 
blush  in  the  sallow  face  ;  and  perhaps  the  girl  had  some 
quick  fancy  or  suspicion  that  he  had  brought  this  bouquet 
to  prove  that  he  knew  everything  was  right,  and  that  he 
expected  to  see  her.  It  was  only  a  part  of  his  universal 
kindness  and  thoughtfulness,  she  considered. 


224  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Frank  is  upstairs,"  she  said,  "  getting  ready  some 
things  to  go  to  Brighton.  Will  you  come  into  the  breakfast- 
room  ?  Have  you  had  breakfast  ?  " 

"  Oh,  you  are  going  to  Brighton  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  she  said  ;  and  somehow  something  moved  her  to 
add,  quickly,  "but  not  for  long,  you  know.  Only  a  few 
days.  It  is  many  a  time  you  will  have  told  me  of  Brighton, 
long  ago,  in  the  Lewis,  but  I  cannot  understand  a  large 
town  being  beside  the  sea,  and  it  will  be  a  great  surprise 
to  me,  I  am  sure  of  that." 

"Ay,  Sheila,"  he  said,  falling  into  the  old  habit  quite 
naturally,  "  you  will  find  it  different  from  Borvabost.  You 
will  have  no  scampering  about  the  rocks,  with  your  head 
bare  and  your  hair  flying  about.  You  will  have  to  dress 
more  correctly  there  than  here  even  ;  and,  by  the  way,  you 
must  be  busy  getting  ready,  so  I  will  go." 

"  Oh,  no,"  she  said,  Avith  a  quick  look  of  disappointment, 
"  you  will  not  go  yet.  If  I  had  known  you  were  coming — 
but  it  was  very  late  when  we  got  home  this  morning — two 
o'clock  it  was." 

"Another  ball?" 

"  Yes,"  said  the  girl,  but  not  very  joyfully. 

"  Why,  Sheila,"  he  said,  with  a  grave  smile  on  his  face, 
"  you  are  becoming  quite  a  woman  of  fashion  now.  And 
you  know  I  can't  keep  up  an  acquaintance  with  a  fine  lady 
who  goes  to  all  these  grand  places,  and  knows  all  sorts  of 
swell  people  ;  so  you'll  have  to  cut  me,  Sheila " 

"  I  hope  I  shall  be  dead  before  that  time  ever  comes," 
said  the  girl,  with  a  sudden  flash  of  indignation  in  her  eyes. 
Then  she  softened.  "  But  it  is  not  kind  of  you  to  laugh 
at  me." 

"  Of  course,  I  did  not  laugh  at  you,"  he  said,  taking 
both  her  hands  in  his,  "  although  I  used  to  sometimes  when 
you  were  a  little  girl,  and  talked  very  wild  English.  Don't 
you  remember  how  vexed  you  used  to  be  ;  and  how  pleased 
you  were  when  your  papa  turned  the  laugh  against  me  by 
getting  me  to  say  that  awful  Gaelic  sentence  about  '  A 
young  calf  ate  a  raiv  egg '  ?  " 

"  Can  you  say  it  now  ?  "  said  Sheila,  with  her  face  getting 
bright  and  pleased  again.  "  Try  it  after  me.  Now  listen." 

She  uttered  some  half-dozen  of  the  most  extraordinary 


DEEPER  AND  DEEPER  225 

sounds  that  any  language  ever  contained  ;  but  Ingram 
would  not  attempt  to  follow  her.  She  reproached  him 
with  having  forgotten  all  that  he  had  learnt  in  Lewis ; 
and  said  she  should  no  longer  look  on  him  as  a  possible 
Highlander. 

"  But  what  are  you  now  ? "  he  asked.  "  You  are  no 
longer  that  wild  girl  who  used  to  run  out  to  sea  in  the 
JIaighdean-mhara,  whenever  there  was  the  excitement  of  a 
storm  coming  on." 

"  Many  tunes,"  she  said,  slowly  and  wistfully,  "  I  will 
wish  that  I  could  be  that  again,  for  a  little  while." 

"Don't  you  enjoy,  then,  all  those  fine  gatherings  you 
go  to  ?  " 

"  I  try  to  like  them." 

"  And  you  don't  succeed." 

He  was  looking  at  her  gravely  and  earnestly  ;  and  she 
turned  away  her  head,  and  did  not  answer.  At  this 
moment  Lavender  came  downstairs,  and  entered  the  room. 

"  Hillo,  Ingram,  my  boy  ;  glad  to  see  you  !  What  pretty 
flowers — it's  a  pity  we  can't  take  them  to  Brighton  with  us." 

"  But  I  intend  to  take  them,"  said  Sheila,  firmly. 

"  Oh,  very  well,  if  you  don't  mind  the  bother,"  said  her 
husband  ;  "  I  should  have  thought  your  hands  would  have 
been  full — you  know,  you'll  have  to  take  everything  with 
you  you  would  want  in  London.  You  will  find  that  Brighton 
isn't  a  dirty  little  fishing-village  in  which  you've  only  to 
tuck  up  your  dress  and  run  about  anyhow." 

"  I  never  saw  a  duly  little  fishing-village,"  said  Sheila, 
quietly. 

Her  husband  laughed. 

"  I  meant  no  offence.  I  was  not  thinking  of  Borvabost 
at  all.  Well,  Ingram,  can't  you  run  down  and  see  us 
while  we  are  at  Brighton  ?  " 

"  Oh  do,  Mr.  Ingram ! "  said  Sheila,  with  quite  a  new 
interest  in  her  face,  and  she  came  forward  as  though  she 
Avould  have  gone  down  on  her  knees  and  begged  this  great 
favour  of  him.  "  Do,  Mr.  Ingram !  We  should  try  to 
amuse  you  some  way,  and  the  weather  is  sure  to  be  fine. 
Shall  we  keep  a  room  for  you  ?  Can  you  come  on  Friday 
and  stay  till  the  Monday  ?  It  is  a  great  difference  there 
will  be  in  the  place  if  you  come  down." 

Q 


226  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Ingrain  looked  at  Sheila,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
promising,  when  Lavender  added — 

"And  we  shall  introduce  you  to  that  young  American 
lady  whom  you  are  so  anxious  to  meet." 

"  Oh,  is  she  to  be  there  ? "  he  said,  looking  rather 
curiously  at  Lavender. 

"Yes,  she  and  her  mother.  "We  are  going  down 
together." 

"  Then  I'll  see  whether  I  can  in  a  day  or  two,"  he  said, 
but  in  a  tone  which  pretty  nearly  convinced  Sheila  that  she 
should  not  have  her  stay  at  Brighton  made  pleasant  by  the 
company  of  her  old  friend  and  associate. 

However,  the  mere  anticipation  of  seeing  the  sea  was 
much  ;  atfd  when  they  had  got  into  a  cab  and  were  going 
down  to  Victoria  Station,  Sheila's  eyes  were  filled  with  a 
joyful  anticipation.  She  had  discarded  altogether  the 
descriptions  of  Brighton  that  had  been  given  her.  It  is 
one  thing  to  receive  information,  and  another  to  reproduce 
it  in  an  imaginative  picture  ;  and,  in  fact,  her  imagination 
was  busy  with  its  own  work  while  she  sat  and  listened  to 
this  person  or  the  other  speaking  of  the  seaside  town  she 
was  going  to.  When  they  spoke  of  promenades,  and 
drives,  and  miles  of  hotels  and  lodging-houses,  she  was 
thinking  of  the  sea-beach,  and  of  the  boats,  and  of  the 
sky-line  with  its  distant  ships.  When  they  told  her  of 
private  theatricals  and  concerts,  and  fancy-dress  balls,  she 
was  thinking  of  being  out  on  the  open  sea,  with  a  light 
breeze  filling  the  sails,  and  a  curl  of  white  foam  rising  at 
the  bow,  and  s  \veeping  and  hissing  down  the  sides  of  the 
boat.  She  would  go  down  among  the  fishermen,  when  her 
husband  and  his  friends  were  not  by,  and  talk  to  them,  and 
get  to  know  what  they  sold  their  fish  for  down  here  in  the 
south.  She  would  find  out  what  their  nets  cost ;  and  if 
there  was  anybody  in  authority  to  whom  they  could  apply 
for  an  advance  of  a  few  pounds  in  case  of  hard  times.  Had 
they  their  cuttings  of  peat  free  from  the  nearest  moss-land  ; 
and  did  they  dress  their  fields  with  the  thatch  that  had  got 
saturated  with  the  smoke  ?  Perhaps  some  of  them  could  tell 
her  where  the  crews  hailed  from  that  had  repeatedly  shot 
the  sheep  of  the  Flannen  Isles.  All  these,  and  a  hundred 
other  things,  she  would  get  to  know ;  and  she  might 


DEEPER  AND  DEEPER  227 

procure  and  send  to  her  father  some  rare  bird,  or  curiosity 
of  the  sea,  that  might  be  added  to  the  little  museum  in 
which  she  used  to  sing,  in  days  gone  by,  when  he  was  busy 
with  his  pipe  and  his  whisky. 

"  You  are  not  much  tired,  then,  by  your  dissipation  of 
last  night,"  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh  to  her  at  the  station,  as 
the  slender,  fair-haired,  grave  lady  looked  admiringly  at 
the  girl's  fresh  colour  and  bright,  grey-blue  eyes.  "  It 
makes  one  envy  you  to  see  you  looking  so  strong  and  in 
such  good  spirits." 

"  How  happy  you  must  be  always,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine, 
and  the  younger  lady  had  the  same  sweet,  low,  and  kindly 
voice  as  her  mother. 

"  I  am  very  well,  thank  you,"  said  Sheila,  blushing  some- 
what, and  not  lifting  her  eyes,  while  Lavender  was  impatient 
that  she  had  not  answered  with  a  laugh  and  some  light 
retort,  such  as  would  have  occurred  to  almost  any  woman 
in  the  circumstances. 

On  the  journey  down,  Lavender  and  Mrs.  Lorraine,  seated 
opposite  each  other  in  two  corner  seats,  kept  up  a  continual 
cross  fire  of  small  pleasantries,  in  which  the  young  American 
lady  had  distinctly  the  best  of  it,  chiefly  by  reason  of  her 
perfect  manner.  The  keenest  thing  she  said  was  said  with 
a  look  of  great  innocence  and  candour  in  the  large  grey 
eyes  ;  and  then  directly  afterwards  she  would  say  something 
very  nice  and  pleasant,  in  precisely  the  same  voice,  as  if  she 
could  not  understand  that  there  was  any  effort  on  the  part 
of  either  to  assume  an  advantage.  The  mother  sometimes 
turned  and  listened  to  this  aimless  talk  with  an  amused 
gravity,  as  of  a  cat  watching  the  gambols  of  a  kitten  ;  but 
generally  she  devoted  herself  to  Sheila,  who  sat  opposite 
her.  She  did  not  talk  much,  and  Sheila  was  glad  of  that ; 
but  the  girl  felt  she  was  being  observed  with  some  little 
curiosity.  She  wished  that  Mrs.  Kavanagh  would  turn 
those  observant  grey  eyes  of  hers  away  in  some  other 
direction.  Now  and  again  Sheila  would  point  out  what 
she  considered  strange  or  striking  in  the  country  outside  ; 
and  for  a  moment  the  elderly  lady  would  look  out.  But 
directly  afterwards  the  grey  eyes  would  come  back  to 
Sheila ;  and  the  girl  knew  they  were  upon  her.  At  last 
she  so  persistently  stared  out  of  the  window,  that  she  fell 

Q  2 


228 

to  dreaming  ;  and  all  the  trees,  and  the  meadows,  and  the 
farmhouses,  and  the  distant  heights  and  hollows,  went  past 
her  as  though  they  were  in  a  sort  of  mist ;  while  she 
replied  to  Mrs.  Kavanagh's  chance  remarks  in  a  mechanical 
fashion,  and  could  only  hear  as  a  monotonous  murmur  the 
talk  of  the  two  people  at  the  other  side  of  the  carriage. 
How  much  of  the  journey  did  the  girl  remember  ?  She 
was  greatly  struck  by  the  amount  of  open  land  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  London — the  commons  between  "Wands- 
worth  and  Streatham,  and  so  forth — and  she  was  pleased 
with  the  appearance  of  the  country  about  Redhill.  For 
the  rest,  a  succession  of  fair  green  pictures  passed  by  her, 
all  bathed  in  a  calm,  half -misty,  summer  sunlight ;  then 
they  pierced  the  chalk  hills  (which  Sheila  at  first  sight 
fancied  were  of  granite)  and  rumbled  through  the  tunnels. 
Finally,  with  just  a  glimpse  of  a  great  mass  of  grey  houses 
filling  a  vast  hollow  and  stretching  up  the  bare  green 
downs  beyond — they  found  themselves  in  Brighton. 

"  Well,  Sheila,  what  do  you  think  of  the  place  ?  "  her 
husband  said  to  her,  in  a  kindly  way,  as  they  were  driving 
down  the  Queen's  Road. 

She  did  not  answer. 

"  It  is  not  like  Borvabost,  is  it  ?  " 

She  was  too  bewildered  to  speak.  She  could  only  look 
about  her  with  a  vague  wonder  and  disappointment.  But 
surely  this  great  city  was  not  the  place  they  had  come  to 
live  in  ?  Would  it  not  disappear  somehow,  and  they  would 
get  away  to  the  sea,  and  the  rocks,  and  the  boats  ? 

They  passed  into  the  upper  part  of  West  Street,  and  here 
was  another  thoroughfare,  down  which  Sheila  glanced  with 
no  great  interest.  But  the  next  moment  there  was  a 
quick  catching  of  her  breath,  which  almost  resembled  a 
sob  ;  and  a  strange,  glad  light  sprang  into  her  eyes. 
Here,  at  last,  was  the  sea  !  Away  beyond  the  narrow 
thoroughfare  she  could  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  great  green 
plain — yellow-green  it  was  in  the  sunlight,  that  the  wind 
was  whitening  here  and  there  with  tumbling  waves.  She 
had  not  noticed  that  there  was  any  wind  inland,  there 
everything  seemed  asleep  ;  but  here  there  was  a  fresh 
breeze  from  the  south,  and  the  sea  had  been  rough  the  day 
before,  and  now  it  was  of  this  strange  olive  colour,  streaked 


DEEPER  AND  DEEPER  229 

with  the  white  curls  of  foam  that  shone  in  the  sunlight. 
Was  there  not  a  cold  scent  of  seaweed,  too,  blown  up  this 
narrow  passage  between  the  houses  ?  And  now  the  carriage 
cut  round  the  corner,  and  whirled  out  into  the  glare  of  the 
King's  Road ;  and  before  her  the  sea  stretched  out  its 
leagues  of  tumbling  and  shining  waves  ;  and  she  heard  the 
water  roaring  along  the  beach  ;  and  far  away  at  the 
horizon  she  saw  a  phantom  ship.  She  did  not  even  look  at 
the  row  of  splendid  hotels  and  houses,  at  the  gaily-dressed 
folks  on  the  pavement,  at  the  brilliant  flags  that  were 
flapping  and  fluttering  on  the  New  Pier,  and  about  the 
beach.  It  was  the  great  world  of  shining  water  beyond 
that  fascinated  her  ;  and  awoke  in  her  a  strange  yearn- 
ing and  longing;  so  that  she  did  not  know  whether  it 
was  grief  or  joy  that  burned  in  her  heart,  and  blinded 
her  eyes  with  tears.  Mrs.  Kavanagh  took  her  arm  as 
they  were  going  up  the  steps  of  the  hotel,  and  said,  in  a 
kindly  way,  "  I  suppose  you  have  some  sad  memories  of  the 
sea  ? " 

"  Xo,"  said  Sheila,  bravely,  "  it  is  always  pleasant  to  me 
to  think  of  the  sea  ;  but  it  is  a  long  time  since — since " 

"  Sheila,"  said  her  husband,  abruptly,  "  do  tell  me  if  all 
your  things  are  here  ;  "  and  then  the  girl  turned,  calm  and 
self-collected,  to  look  after  rugs  and  boxes. 

When  they  were  finally  established  in  the  hotel,  Lavender 
went  off  to  negotiate  for  the  hire  of  a  carriage  for  Mrs. 
Kavanagh  during  her  stay  ;  and  Sheila  was  left  with  the  two 
ladies.  They  had  tea  in  their  sitting-room  ;  and  they  had 
it  at  one  of  the  windows,  so  that  they  could  look  out  on  the 
stream  of  people  and  carriages  now  beginning  to  flow  by  in 
the  clear  yellow  light  of  the  afternoon.  But  neither  the 
people  nor  the  carriages  had  much  interest  for  Sheila,  who, 
indeed,  sat  for  the  most  part  silent,  intently  watching  the 
various  boats  that  were  putting  out  or  coming  in,  and  busy 
with  conjectures  which  she  knew  there  was  no  use  placing 
before  her  two  companions. 

"  Brighton  seems  to  surprise  you  very  much,"  said  Mrs. 
Lorraine. 

"Yes,"  said  Sheila,  "  I  have  been  told  all  about  it ;  .but 
you  will  forget  all  that ;  and  this  is  very  different  from  the 
sea  at  home — at  my  home." 


230  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Your  home  is  in  London  now,"  said  the  elder  lady,  with 
a  smile. 

"  Oh  no !  "  said  Sheila,  most  anxiously  and  earnestly. 
"  London,  that  is  not  our  home  at  all.  We  live  there  for  a 
time  ;  that  will  be  quite  necessary  ;  but  we  shall  go  back  to 
the  Lewis  some  day  soon — nob  to  stay  altogether,  but  enough 
to  make  it  as  much  our  home  as  London." 

"  How  do  you  think  Mr.  Lavender  will  enjoy  living  in 
the  Hebrides  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  with  a  look  of  innocent 
and  friendly  inquiry  in  her  eyes. 

"  It  was  many  a  time  that  he  has  said  he  never  liked  any 
place  so  much,"  said  Sheila,  with  something  of  a  blush ; 
and  then  she  added,  with  growing  courage,  "  for  you  must 
not  think  he  is  always  like  what  he  is  here.  Oh  no  ;  when 
he  is  in  the  Highlands,  there  is  no  day  that  is  nearly  long 
enough  for  what  has  to  be  done  in  it ;  and  he  is  up  very 
early  ;  and  away  to  the  loch  or  the  hills  with  a  gun  or  a 
salmon  rod.  He  can  catch  the  salmon  very  well — oh,  very 
well  for  one  that  is  not  accustomed  ;  and  he  will  shoot  as 
well  as  any  one  that  is  in  the  island,  except  my  papa.  It  is 
a  great  deal  to  do  there  will  be  in  the  island,  and  plenty  of 
amusement ;  and  there  is  not  much  chance — not  any  what- 
ever— of  his  being  lonely  or  tired  when  we  go  to  live  in  the 
Lewis." 

Mrs.  Kavanagh  and  her  daughter  were  both  amused  and 
pleased  by  the  earnest  and  rapid  fashion  in  which  Sheila 
talked.  They  had  generally  considered  her  to  be  a  trifle  shy 
and  silent — not  knowing  how  afraid  she  was  of  using  wrong 
idioms  or  pronunciations  ;  but  here  was  one  subject  on 
which  her  heart  was  set ;  and  she  had  no  more  thought  as 
to  whether  she  said  "  like-ah-ness  "  or  likeness,  or  whether 
she  said  "gyarden"  or  garden.  Indeed,  she  forgot  more 
than  that.  She  was  somewhat  excited  by  the  presence  of 
the  sea,  and  the  well-remembered  sound  of  the  waves  ;  and 
she  was  pleased  to  talk  about  her  life  in  the  north,  and 
about  her  husband's  stay  there,  and  how  they  should  pass 
the  time  when  she  returned  to  Borva.  She  neglected 
altogether  Lavender's  injunctions  that  she  should  not  talk 
about  fishing,  or  cooking,  or  farming  to  his  friends.  She 
incidentally  revealed  to  Mrs.  Kavanagh  and  her  daughter  a 
great  deal  more  about  the  household  at  Borva  than  he  would 


DEEPER  AND  DEEPER  231 

have  wished  to  be  known.  For  how  could  they  understand 
about  his  wife  having  her  own  cousin  to  serve  at  table  ;  and 
what  would  they  think  of  a  young  lady  who  was  proud  of 
making  her  father's  shirts  ?  Whatever  these  two  ladies  may 
have  thought,  they  were  very  obviously  interested  ;  and  if 
they  were  amused,  it  was  in  a  far  from  unfriendly  fashion. 
Mrs.  Lorraine  professed  herself  quite  charmed  with  Sheila's 
descriptions  of  her  island  life  ;  and  wished  she  could  go  up 
to  Lewis  to  see  all  these  strange  things.  But  when  she 
spoke  of  visiting  the  island  when  Sheila  and  her  husband 
were  staying  there,  Sheila  was  not  nearly  so  ready  to  offer 
her  a  welcome  as  the  daughter  of  a  hospitable  old  High- 
lander ought  to  have  been. 

"  And  will  you  go  out  in  a  boat  now  ?  "  said  Sheila 
looking  down  to  the  beach. 

"  In  a  boat  ?  What  sort  of  a  boat  ? "  said  Mrs. 
Kavanagh. 

"  Any  one  of  those  little  sailing  boats — it  is  very  good 
boats  they  are,  as  far  as  1  can  see." 

"No,  thank  you,"  said  the  elderly  lady,  with  a  smile. 
"  I  am  not  fond  of  small  boats ;  and  the  company  of  the 
men  who  go  with  you  might  be  a  little  objectionable,  I 
should  fancy." 

*  >  "  But  you  need  not  take  any  men,"  said  Sheila ;  "  the 
sailing  of  one  of  those  little  boats  is  very  simple." 

"Do  you  mean  to  say  you  could  manage  the  boat  by 
yourself  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes.  It  is  very  simple.  And  my  husband,  he  will 
help  me." 

"  And  what  would  you  do,  if  you  went  out  ?  " 

"  We  might  try  the  fishing.  I  do  not  see  where  the  rocks 
are  ;  but  we  would  go  off  to  the  rocks,  and  put  down  the 
anchor,  and  try  the  lines.  You  would  have  some  ferry  good 
fish  for  breakfast  in  the  morning." 

"  My  dear  child,"  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  "  you  don't  know 
what  you  propose  to  us.  To  go  and  roll  about  in  an  open 
boat,  in  these  waves — we  should  lie  ill  in  five  minutes.  But 
I  suppose  you  don't  know  what  sea-sickness  is  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Sheila  ;  "  but  I  hear  my  husband  speak  of  it 
often.  And  it  is  only  in  crossing  the  Channel  that  people 
will  get  sick." 


232  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Why,  this  is  the  Channel !  " 

Sheila  stared.  Then  she  endeavoured  to  recall  her 
geography.  Of  course,  this  must  be  a  part  of  the  Channel ; 
but  if  the  people  in  the  south  became  ill  in  this  weather,  they 
must  be  rather  feeble  creatures.  Her  speculations  on  this 
.point  were  cut  short  by  the  entrance  of  her  husband,  who 
came  to  announce  that  he  had  not  only  secured  a  carriage 
for  a  month,  but  that  it  would  be  round  at  the  hotel-door 
in  half-an-hour ;  whereupon  the  two  American  ladies  said 
they  would  be  ready,  and  left  the  room. 

"  Now  go  off  and  get  dressed,  Sheila,"  said  Lavender. 

She  stood  for  a  moment  irresolute. 

"If  you  wouldn't  mind,"  she  said,  after  a  moment's 
hesitation,  "  if  you  would  allow  me  to  go  by  myself — if  you 
would  go  to  the  driving — and  let  me  go  down  to  the 
shore " 

"  Oh,  nonsense  ! "  he  said.  "  You  will  have  people 
fancying  you  are  only  a  schoolgirl.  How  can  you  go  down 
to  the  beach  by  yourself  among  all  those  loafing  vagabonds, 
who  would  pick  your  pocket  or  throw  stones  at  you  ?  You 
must  behave  like  an  ordinary  Christian  :  now  do,  like  a  good 
girl,  get  dressed,  and  submit  to  the  restraints  of  civilized 
life.  It  won't  hurt  you  much." 

So  she  left,  to  lay  aside  with  some  regret  her  rough  blue 
dress  ;  and  he  went  down  stairs  to  see  about  ordering 
dinner. 

Had  she  come  down  to  the  sea,  then,  only  to  live  the  life 
that  had  nearly  broken  her  heart  in  London  ?  It  seemed  so. 
They  drove  up  and  down  the  Parade  for  about  an  hour  and 
a  half  ;  and  the  roar  of  carriages  drowned  the  rush  of  the 
waves.  Then  they  dined  in  the  quiet  of  this  still  summer 
evening  ;  and  she  could  only  see  the  sea  as  a  distant  and 
silent  picture  through  the  windows  ;  while  the  talk  of  her 
companions  was  either  about  the  people  whom  they  had  seen 
while  driving,  or  about  matters  of  which  she  knew  nothing. 
Then  the  blinds  were  drawn,  and  candles  lit ;  and  still  their 
conversation  murmured  around  her  unheeding  ears.  After 
dinner,  her  husband  went  down  to  the  smoking-room  of  the 
hotel  to  have  a  cigar  ;  and  she  was  left  with  Mrs.  Kavanagh 
and  her  daughter.  She  went  to  the  window,  and  looked 
through  a  chink  in  the  Venetian  blinds.  There  was  a 


DEEPER  AND  DEEPER  233 

beautiful  clear  twilight  abroad  ;  the  darkness  was  still  of  a 
soft  grey ;  and  up  in  the  pale  yellow-green  of  the  sky  a 
large  planet  burned  and  throbbed.  Soon  the  sea  and  the 
sky  would  darken  ;  the  stars  would  come  forth  in  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  ;  and  the  moving  water  would  be 
struck  with  a  million  trembling  spots  of  silver,  as  the  waves 
came  onward  to  the  beach. 

"Mayn't  we  go  out  for  a  walk  till  Frank  has  finished 
his  cigar  ?  "  said  Sheila. 

"You  couldn't  go  out  walking  at  this  time  of  night," 
said  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  in  a  kindly  way ;  "  you  would  meet 
the  most  unpleasant  persons.  Besides,  going  out  into  the 
night  air  would  be  most  dangerous." 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  night,"  said  Sheila,  with  a  sigh.  She 
was  still  standing  at  the  window. 

"Come,"  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  going  over  to  her  and 
putting  her  hand  in  her  arm, "  we  cannot  have  any  moping, 
you  know.  You  must  be  content  to  be  dull  with  us  for  one 
night ;  and  after  to-night,  we  shall  see  what  we  can  do  to 
amuse  you." 

"  Oh,  but  I  don't  want  to  be  amused ! "  cried  Sheila, 
almost  in  terror,  for  some  vision  flashed  on  her  mind  of  a 
series  of  parties.  "  I  would  much  rather  be  left  alone,  and 
allowed  to  go  about  by  myself.  But  it  is  very  kind  of  you," 
she  hastily  added,  fancying  that  her  speech  had  been  some- 
what ungracious  ;  "  it  is  very  kind  of  you  indeed." 

"  Come,  I  promised  to  teach  you  cribbage,  didn't  I  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Sheila,  with  much  resignation  ;  and  she 
walked  to  the  table,  and  sat  down. 

Perhaps,  after  all,  she  could  have  spent  the  rest  of  the 
evening  with  some  little  equanimity,  in  patiently  trying  to 
learn  this  game,  in  which  she  had  no  interest  whatever ; 
but  her  thoughts  and  fancies  were  soon  drawn  away  from 
cribbage.  Her  husband  returned.  Mrs.  Lorraine  had  been 
for  some  little  time  at  the  big  piano  at  the  other  side  of  the 
room,  amusing  herself  by  playing  snatches  of  anything  she 
happened  to  remember  ;  but  when  Mr.  Lavender  returned, 
she  seemed  to  wake  up.  He  went  over  to  her  and  sat  down 
by  the  piano. 

"  Here,"  she  said,  "  I  have  all  the  duets  and  songs  you 
spoke  of ;  and  T  am  quite  delighted  with  those  I  have  tried. 


234  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

I  wish  mamma  would  sing  a  second  to  me — how  can  one 
learn  without  practising  ?  And  there  are  some  of  those 
duets  I  really  should  like  to  learn,  after  what  you  said  of 
them." 

"  Shall  I  become  a  substitute  for  your  mamma  ? "  he 
said. 

"  And  sing  the  second,  so  that  I  may  practise  ?  Your 
cigar  must  have  left  you  in  a  very  amiable  mood." 

"Well,  suppose  we  try,"  he  said,  and  he  proceeded  to 
open  out  the  roll  of  music  which  she  had  brought  down. 

"  Which  shall  we  take  first  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  It  does  not  much  matter,"  she  answered  indifferently,  and, 
indeed,  she  took  up  one  of  the  duets  by  haphazard.  What 
was  it  made  Mrs.  Kavanagh's  companion  suddenly  lift  her 
eyes  from  the  cribbage-board,  and  look  with  wonder  to  the 
other  end  of  the  room  ?  She  had  recognized  the  little 
prelude  to  one  of  her  own  duets,  and  it  was  being  played  by 
Mrs.  Lorraine.  And  it  was  Mrs.  Lorraine  who  began  to 
sing — in  a  sweet,  expressive,  and  well-trained  voice  of  no 
great  power — 

"Love  in  thine  eyes  for  ever  plays;" 
and  it  was  she  to  whom  the  answer  was  given — 
"  He  in  thy  snowy  bosom  strays ; " 

and  then,  Sheila,  sitting  stupefied,  and  pained,  and  con- 
fused, heard  them  sing  together — 

"  He  makes  thy  rosy  lips  his  care. 
And  \valks  the  mazes  of  thy  hair." 

She  had  not  heard  the  short  conversation  which  had  intro- 
duced this  music  ;  and  she  could  not  tell  but  that  her 
husband  had  been  practising  these  duets — her  duets — with 
some  one  else.  For  presently  they  sang,  "  When  the  rosy 
morn  appearing,"  and  "  I  would  that  my  love  could  silently," 
and  others,  all  of  them,  in  Sheila's  eyes,  sacred  to  the  time 
when  she  and  Frank  Lavender  used  to  sit  in  the  little  room 
at  Borva.  It  was  no  consolation  to  her  that  Mrs.  Lorraine 
had  but  an  imperfect  acquaintance  with  them  ;  that  often- 
times she  stumbled  and  went  back  over  a  bit  of  the  accom- 
paniment ;  that  her  voice  was  far  from  being  striking. 


DEEPER  AND  DEEPER  235 

Lavender,  at  all  events,  seemed  to  heed  none  of  these  things. 
It  was  not  as  a  music-master  that  he  sang  with  her.  He 
put  as  much  expression  of  love  into  his  voice  as  ever  he  had 
done  in  the  old  days  when  he  sang  with  his  future  bride. 
And  it  seemed  so  cruel  that  this  woman  should  have  taken 
Sheila's  own  duets  from  her,  to  sing  before  her,  with  her 
own  husband.  Sheila  learnt  little  more  cribbage  that 
evening.  Mrs.  Kavanagh  could  not  understand  how  her 
pupil  had  become  embarrassed,  inattentive,  and  even  sad  ; 
and  asked  her  if  she  was  tired.  Sheila  said  she  was  very 
tired,  and  would  go.  And,  when  she  got  her  candle,  Mrs. 
Lorraine  and  Lavender  had  just  discovered  another  duet 
which  they  felt  bound  to  try  together,  as  the  last. 

This  was  not  the  first  time  she  had  been  more  or  less 
vaguely  pained  by  her  husband's  attentions  to  this  young 
American  lady ;  and  yet  she  would  not  admit  to  herself 
that  he  was  any  way  in  the  wrong.  She  would  entertain  no 
suspicion  of  him.  She  would  have  no  jealousy  in  her  heart ; 
for  how  could  jealousy  exist  with  a  perfect  faith  ?  And  so 
she  had  repeatedly  reasoned  herself  out  of  these  tentative 
feelings,  and  resolved  that  she  would  do  neither  her  husband 
nor  Mrs.  Lorraine  the  injustice  of  being  vexed  with  them. 
So  it  was  now.  What  more  natural  than  that  Frank  should 
recommend  to  any  friend  the  duets  of  which  he  was 
particularly  fond  ?  What  more  natural  than  that  this 
young  lady  should  wish  to  show  her  appreciation  of  those 
songs  by  singing  them ;  and  who  was  to  sing  them  with 
her  but  he  ?  Sheila  would  have  no  suspicion  of  either  ;  and 
so  she  came  down  next  morning  determined  to  be  very 
friendly  with  Mrs.  Lorraine. 

But  that  forenoon  another  thing  occurred  which  nearly 
broke  down  all  her  resolves. 

"  Sheila."  said  her  husband,  "  I  don't  think  I  ever  asked 
you  whether  you  rode." 

"  I  used  to  ride  often  at  home,"  she  said. 

"  But  I  suppose  you'd  rather  not  ride  here,"  he  said. 
"  Mrs.  Lorraine  and  I  propose  to  go  out  presently  :  you'll 
be  able  to  amuse  yourself  somehow  till  we  come  back." 

Mrs.  Lorraine  had,  indeed,  gone  to  put  on  her  habit ;  and 
her  mother  was  with  her. 

"  I  suppose  I  may  go  out,"  said  Sheila.     "  It  is  so  very 


236  A  PRINCESS  OP  THULE 

dull  indoors,  and  Mrs.  Kavanagh  is  afraid  of  the  east  wind, 
and  she  is  not  going  out." 

"  Well,  there's  no  harm  in  your  going  out ;  but  I  should 
have  thought  you'd  have  liked  the  comfort  of  watching  the 
people  pass  by  the  window." 

Sheila  said  nothing  ;  but  went  off  to  her  own  room,  and 
dressed  to  go  out.  Why,  she  knew  not,  but  she  felt  she 
would  rather  not  see  her  husband  and  Mrs.  Lorraine  start 
from  the  hotel-door.  She  stole  down  stairs,  without  return- 
ing to  the  sitting-room  ;  and  then,  going  through  the  great 
hall  and  down  the  steps,  found  herself  free  and  alone  in 
Brighton. 

It  was  a  beautiful,  bright,  clear  day,  though  the  wind  was 
a  trifle  chilly  ;  and  all  around  her  there  was  a  sense  of  space, 
and  light,  and  motion  in  the  shining  skies,  the  far  clouds, 
and  the  heaving  and  noisy  sea.  Yet  she  had  none  of  the 
gladness  of  heart  with  which  she  used  to  rush  out  of  the 
house  at  Borva,  to  drink  in  the  fresh  salt  air,  and  feel  the 
sunlight  on  her  cheeks.  She  went  away,  with  her  face 
wistful  and  pensive,  along  the  King's  Road,  scarcely  seeing 
any  of  the  people  who  passed  her ;  and  the  noise  of  the 
crowd  and  of  the  waves  hummed  in  her  ears  in  a  distant 
fashion,  even  as  she  walked  by  the  wooden  railing  over  the 
beach.  She  stopped  and  watched  some  men  putting  off  a 
heavy  fishing-boat ;  and  she  still  stood  and  looked  long  after 
the  boat  was  launched.  She  would  not  confess  to  herself 
that  she  felt  lonely  and  miserable  :  it  was  the  sight  of  the 
sea  that  was  melancholy.  It  seemed  so  different  from  the 
sea  off  Borva,  that  had  always  to  her  a  familiar  and  friendly 
look,  even  when  it  was  raging  and  rushing  before  a  south- 
west wind.  Here  this  sea  looked  vast,  and  calm,  and  sad  ; 
and  the  sound  of  it  was  not  pleasant  to  her  ears  as  was  the 
sound  of  the  waves  on  the  rocks  at  Borva.  She  walked  on, 
in  a  blind  and  unthinking  fashion,  until  she  had  got  far  up 
the  Parade,  and  could  see  the  long  line  of  monotonous  white 
cliff  meeting  the  dull  blue  plain  of  the  waves  until  both 
disappeared  in  the  horizon. 

She  returned  to  the  King's  Road,  a  trifle  tired,  and  sat 
down  on  one  of  the  benches  there.  The  passing  of  the 
people  would  amuse  her ;  and  now  the  pavement  was 
thronged  Ayith  a  crowd  of  gaily-dressed  folks,  and  the  centre 


DEEPER  AND  DEEPER  237 

of  the  thoroughfare  was  brisk  with  the  constant  going  and 
coming  of  riders.  She  saw  strange  old  women,  painted, 
powdered,  and  bewigged,  in  hideous  imitation  of  youth, 
pounding  up  and  down  the  level  street,  and  she  wondered 
what  wild  hallucinations  possessed  the  brains  of  these  poor 
creatures.  She  saw  troops  of  beautiful  young  girls,  with 
flowing  hair,  clear  eyes,  and  bright  complexions,  cantering 
by — a  goodly  company — under  charge  of  a  riding-mistress  ; 
and  the  world  seemed  to  grow  sweeter  when  they  came  into 
view.  But  while  she  was  vaguely  gazing,  and  wondering, 
and  speculating,  her  eyes  were  suddenly  caught  by  two 
riders  whose  appearance  sent/  a  throb  to  her  heart.  Frank 
Lavender  rode  well ;  so  did  Mrs.  Lorraine ;  and,  though 
they  were  paying  no  particular  attention  to  the  crowd  of 
passers-by,  they  doubtless  knew  that  they  could  challenge 
criticism  with  an  easy  confidence.  They  were  laughing  and 
talking  to  each  other  as  they  went  rapidly  past ;  neither 
of  them  saw  Sheila.  The  girl  did  not  look  after  them. 
She  rose  and  walked  in  the  other  direction,  with  a  greater 
pain  at  her  heart  than  had  been  there  for  many  a  day. 

What  was  this  crowd  ?  Some  dozen  or  so  of  people  were 
standing  round  a  small  girl  who,  accompanied  by  a  man, 
was  playing  a  violin,  and  playing  it  very  well,  too.  It  was 
not  the  music  that  attracted  Sheila  to  the  child  ;  but  partly 
that  there  was  a  look  about  the  timid,  pretty  face,  and  the 
modest  and  honest  eyes,  that  reminded  her  of  little  Ailasa, 
and  partly  because,  just  at  this  moment,  her  heart  seemed 
to  be  strangely  sensitive  and  sympathetic.  She  took  no 
thought  of  the  people  looking  on.  She  went  forward  to 
the  edge  of  the  pavement,  and  found  that  the  small  girl 
and  her  companion  were  about  to  go  away.  Sheila  stopped 
the  man. 

"Will  you  let  your  little  girl  come  with  me  into  this 
shop  ?  " 

It  was  a  confectioner's  shop. 

"  We  were  going  home  to  dinner,"  said  the  man,  while 
the  small  girl  looked  up  with  wondering  eyes. 

"  Will  you  let  her  have  dinner  with  me,  and  you  will  come 
back  in  half-an-hour  ?  " 

The  man  looked  at  the  little  girl ;  he  seemed  to  be  really 
fond  of  her,  and  saw  that  she  was  very  willing  to  go.  Sheila 


238  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

took  her  hand,  and  led  her  into  the  confectioner's  shop, 
putting  her  violin  on  one  of  the  small  marble  tables  while 
they  sat  down  at  another.  She  was  probably  not  aware  that 
two  or  three  idlers  had  followed  them,  and  were  staring 
with  might  and  main  in  at  the  door  of  the  shop. 

What  could  this  child  have  thought  of  the  beautiful  and 
yet  sad-eyed  lady  who  was  so  kind  to  her,  who  got  her  all 
sorts  of  things  with  her  own  hands,  and  asked  her  all  manner 
of  questions  in  a  low,  gentle,  and  sweet  voice  ?  There  was 
not  much  in  Sheila's  appearance  to  provoke  fear  or  awe. 
The  little  girl,  shy  at  first,  got  to  be  a  little  more  frank  ;  and 
told  her  hostess  when  she  rose  in  the  morning,  how  she 
practised,  the  -number  of  hours  they  were  out  during  the 
day,  and  many  of  the  small  incidents  of  her  daily  life.  She 
had  been  photographed  too,  and  her  photograph  was  sold 
in  one  of  the  shops.  She  was  very  well  content ;  she  liked 
.playing  ;  the  people  were  kind  to  her  ;  and  she  did  not  often 
get  tired. 

"  Then  I  shall  see  you  often  if  I  stay  in  Brighton  ?  "  said 
Sheila. 

"We  go  out  every  day  when  it  does  not  rain  very  hard." 

"  Perhaps  some  wet  day  you  will  come  and  see  me  ;  and 
you  will  have  some  tea  with  me  ;  would  you  like  that  ?  " 

"  Yes,  very  much,"  said  the  small  musician,  looking  up 
frankly. 

Just  at  this  moment — the  half -hour  having  fully  expired 
— the  man  appeared  at  the  door. 

"  Don't  hurry,"  said  Sheila  to  the  little  girl ;  "  sit  still  and 
drink  up  the  lemonade ;  then  I  will  give  you  some  little 
parcels  you  must  put  in  your  pocket.'* 

She  was  about  to  rise  to  go  to  the  counter,  when  she 
suddenly  met  the  eyes  of  her  husband,  who  was  calmly  staring 
at  her.  He  had  come  out,  after  their  ride,  with  Mrs.  Lorraine 
to  have  a  stroll  up  and  down  the  pavements ;  and  had,  in 
looking  in  at  the  various  shops,  caught  sight  of  Sheila  quietly 
having  luncheon  with  this  girl  whom  she  had  picked  up  in 
the  streets. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  the  like  of  that  ? "  he  said  to  Mrs. 
Lorraine.  "  In  open  day — with  people  staring  in — and  she 
has  not  even  taken  the  trouble  to  put  the  violin  out  of  sight." 

"  The  poor  child  means  no  harm,"  said  his  companion. 


DEEPER  AND  DEEPER  239 

"  "Well,  we  must  get  her  out  of  this  somehow,"  he  said, 
and  so  they  entered  the.  shop. 

Sheila  knew  she  was  guilty  the  moment  she  met  her  hus- 
band's look,  though  she  had  never  dreamed  of  it  before. 
She  had,  indeed,  acted  quite  thoughtlessly — perhaps  chiefly 
moved  by  a  desire  to  speak  to  some  one,  and  to  befriend 
some  one  in  her  own  loneliness. 

"  Hadn't  you  better  let  this  little  girl  go  ?  "  said  Lavender 
to  Sheila,  with  an  embarrassed  laugh,  as  soon  as  he  had 
ordered  an  ice  for  his  companion. 

"  When  she  has  finished  her  lemonade  she  will  go,"  said 
Sheila,  meeklv.  "But  I  have  to  buy  some  things  for  her 
first." 

"  You  have  got  a  whole  lot  of  people  round  the  door,"  he  said. 

"  It  was  very  kind  of  the  people  to  wait  for  her,"  answered 
Sheila,  with  the  same  composure.  "  "We  have  been  here  half- 
an-hour.  I  suppose  they  will  like  her  music  very  much." 

The  little  violinist  was  now  taken  to  the  counter,  and  her 
pockets  stuffed  with  packages  of  sugared  fruits  and  other 
dainty  delicacies  ;  then  she  was  permitted  to  go  with  half-a- 
crown  in  her  hand.  Mrs.  Lorraine  patted  her  shoulder  in 
passing,  and  said  she  was  a  pretty  little  thing. 

They  went  home  to  luncheon.  Nothing  was  said  about 
the  incident  of  the  forenoon,  except  that  Lavender  com- 
plained to  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  in  a  humorous  way,  that  his  wife 
had  a  most  extraordinary  fondness  for  beggars  ;  and  that  he 
never  went  home  of  an  evening  without  expecting  to  find 
her  dining  with  the  nearest  scavenger  and  his  family. 
Lavender,  indeed,  was  in  an  amiable  frame  of  mind  at  this 
meal  (during  the  progress  of  which  Sheila  sat  by  the  window, 
of  course,  for  she  had  already  lunched  in  company  with  the 
tiny  violinist),  and  was  bent  on  making  himself  as  agreeable 
as  possible  to  his  two  companions.  Their  talk  had  drifted 
towards  the  wanderings  of  the  ladies  on  the  Continent ;  from 
that  to  the  Nibelungen  frescoes  in  Munich ;  from  that  to 
the  Nibelungen  itself,  and  then,  by  easy  transition,  to  the 
ballads  of  Uhland  and  Heine.  Lavender  was  in  one  of  his 
most  impulsive  and  brilliant  moods — gay  and  jocular,  tender 
and  sympathetic  by  turns,  and  so  obviously  sincere  in  all, 
that  his  listeners  were  delighted  with  his  speeches,  and  as- 
sertions, and  stories,  and  believed  them  as  implicitly  as  he 


240  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

did  himself.  Sheila,  sitting  at  a  distance,  saw  and  heard, 
and  could  not  help  recalling  many  an  evening  in  the  far 
north,  when  Lavender  used  to  fascinate  every  one  around 
him  by  the  infection  of  his  warm  and  poetic  enthusiasm. 
How  he  talked,  too — telling  the  stories  of  these  quaint  and 
pathetic  ballads  in  his  own  rough-and-ready  translations — 
while  there  was  no  self-consciousness  in  his  face,  but  a 
thorough  Avarmth  of  earnestness ;  and  sometimes,  too,  she 
would  notice  a  quiver  of  the  under  lip  that  she  knew  of  old, 
when  some  pathetic  point  or  phrase  had  to  be  indicated 
rather  than  described.  He  was  drawing  pictures  for  them 
as  well  as  telling  stories — of  the  three  students  entering  the 
room  in  which  the  landlady's  daughter  lay  dead — of  Barba- 
rossa  in  his  cave — of  the  child  who  used  to  look  up  at  Heine 
as  he  passed  her  in  the  street,  awe-stricken  by  his  pale  and 
strange  face — of  the  last  of  the  band  of  companions  who  sat 
in  the  solitary  room  in  which  they  had  sat,  and  drank  to 
their  memory — of  the  King  of  Thule,  and  the  deserter  from 
Strasburg,  and  a  thousand  others. 

"  But  is  there  any  of  them — is  there  anything  in  the  world 
more  piteous  than  that  pilgrimage  to  Kevlaar  ?  "  he  said. 
"  You  know  it,  of  course.  No  !  Oh,  you  must,  surely.  Don't 
you  remember  the  mother  who  stood  by  the  bedside  of  her 
sick  son  ;  and  asked  him  whether  he  would  not  rise  to  see 
the  great  procession  go  by  the  window  ;  and  he  tells  her 
that  he  cannot — he  is  so  ill — his  heart  is  breaking  for  think- 
ing of  his  dead  Gretchen  ?  You  know  the  story,  Sheila. 
The  mother  begs  him  to  rise  and  come  with  her,  and  they 
will  join  the  band  of  pilgrims  going  to  Kevlaar,  to  be  healed 
there  of  their  wounds  by  the  Mother  of  God.  Then  you 
find  them  at  Kevlaar ;  and  all  the  maimed  and  the  lame 
people  have  come  to  the  shrine ;  and  whichever  limb  is 
diseased,  they  make  a  waxen  image  of  that,  and  lay  it  on  the 
altar  ;  and  then  they  are  healed.  "Well,  the  mother  of  this 
poor  lad  takes  wax  and  forms  a  heart  out  of  it,  and  says  to 
her  son,  '  Take  that  to  the  Mother  of  God,  and  she  will  heal 
your  pain.'  Sighing,  he  takes  the  wax  heart  in  his  hand, 
and,  sighing,  he  goes  to  the  shrine  ;  and  there,  with  tears 
running  down  his  face,  he  says,  '  0  beautiful  Queen  of 
Heaven,  I  am  come  to  tell  you  my  grief.  I  lived  with  my 
mother  in  Cologne — near  us  lived  Gretchen — who  is  dead 


DEEPER  AND  DEEPER  241 

now.     Blessed  Mary,  I  bring  you  this  wax  heart ;  heal  the 
wound  in  my  heart.'     And  then — and  then — 

Sheila  saw  his  lip  tremble.  But  he  frowned,  and  said, 
impatiently — 

"  What  a  shame  it  is  to  destroy  such  a  beautiful  story  ! 
You  can  have  no  idea  of  it — of  its  simplicity  and  tender- 
ness— 

"  But  pray  let  us  hear  the  rest  of  it,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine, 
gently. 

"  Well,  the  last  scene,  you  know,  is  a  small  chamber,  and 
the  mother  and  her  sick  son  are  asleep.  The  Blessed  Mary 
glides  into  the  chamber,  and  bends  over  the  young  man,  and 
puts  her  hand  lightly  on  his  heart.  Then  she  smiles  and 
disappears.  The  mother  has  seen  all  this  in  a  dream,  and  now 
she  awakes,  for  the  dogs  are  barking  loudly.  The  mother 
goes  over  to  the  bed  of  her  son,  and  he  is  dead,  and  the 
morning  light  touches  his  pale  face.  And  then  the  mother 
meekly  folds  her  hands, — and  says •" 

He  rose  hastily,  with  a  gesture  of  fretfulness,  and  walked- 
over  to  the  window  at  which  Sheila  sat,  and  looked  out. 
She  put  her  hand  up  to  his  ;  he  took  it. 

"  The  next  time  I  try  to  translate  Heine,"  he  said,  making 
it  appear  that  he  had  broken  off  through  vexation,  "  some- 
thing strange  will  happen." 

"It  is  a  beautiful  story,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  who  had 
herself  been  crying  a  little  bit,  in  a  covert  way  ;  "  I  wonder 
I  have  not  seen  a  translation  of  it.  Come,  mamma,  Lady 
Leveret  said  we  were  not  to  be  after  four." 

So  they  rose  and  left ;  and  Sheila  was  alone  with  her  hus- 
band, and  still  holding  his  hand.  She  looked  up  at  him 
timidly,  wondering,  perhaps,  in  her  simple  way,  as  to  whether 
she  should  not  now  pour  out  Ler  heart  to  him,  and  tell  him 
all  her  griefs,  and  fears,  and  yearnings.  He  had  obviously 
been  deeply  moved  by  the  story  he  had  told  so  roughly  ; 
surely  now  was  a  good  opportunity  of  appealing  to  him,  and 
begging  for  sympathy  and  compassion. 

"  Frank,"  she  said,  and  she  rose,  and  came  close,  and  bent 
down  her  head  to  hide  the  colour  in  her  face. 

"  Well  ?  "  he  answered. 

"  You  won't  be  vexed  with  me,"  she  said,  in  a  low  voice, 
and  with  her  heart  beginning  to  beat  rapidly. 

R 


242  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Vexed  with  you  about  what,  Sheila  ?  "  he  said. 

Alas !  all  her  hopes  had  fled.  She  shrank  from  the 
wondering  look  with  which  she  knew  he  was  regarding  her. 
She  felt  it  to  be  impossible  that  she  should  place  before  him 
those  confidences  with  which  she  had  approached  him  ;  and 
so,  with  a  great  effort,  she  merely  said — 

"  Are  we  to  go  to  Lady  Leveret's  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  so,"  he  said,  "  unless  you  would  rather  go  and 
see  some  blind  fiddler  or  beggar.  Sheila,  you  should  really 
not  be  so  forgetful ;  what  if  Lady  Leveret,  for  example,  had 
come  into  that  shop  ?  You  should  remember  you  are  a 
woman  and  not  a  child.  Do  you  ever  see  Mrs.  Kavanagh 
or  her  daughter  do  any  of  these  things  ?  " 

Sheila  had  let  go  his  hand ;  her  eyes  were  still  turned 
towards  the  ground.  She  had  fancied  that  a  little  of  that 
emotion  that  had  been  awakened  in  him  by  the  story  of  the 
German  mother  and  her  son  might  warm  his  heart  towards 
herself,  and  render  it  possible  for  her  to  talk  to  him  frankly 
about  all  that  she  had  been  dimly  thinking,  and  more 
definitely  suffering.  She  was  mistaken  :  that  was  all. 

"  I  will  try  to  do  better,  and  please  you,"  she  said  ;  and 
then  she  went  away. 

CHAPTEE  XV. 

A   FRIEND   IN  NEED. 

WAS  it  a  delusion  that  had  grown  up  in  the  girl's  mind,  and 
now  held  full  possession  of  it — that  she  was  in  a  world  with 
which  she  had  no  sympathy,  that  she  should  never  be  able 
to  find  a  home  there,  that  the  influences  of  it  were  gradually 
and  surely  stealing  from  her  her  husband's  love  and  con- 
fidence ?  Or  was  this  longing  to  get  away  from  the  people 
and  the  circumstances  that  surrounded  her  but  the  uncon- 
scious promptings  of  an  incipient  jealousy  ?  She  did  not 
question  her  own  mind'  closely  on  these  points.  She  only 
vaguely  knew  that  she  was  miserable,  and  that  she  could 
not  tell  her  husband  of  the  weight  that  pressed  on  her  heart. 
Here,  too,  as  they  drove  along  to  have  tea  with  a  certain 
Lady  Leveret,  who  was  one  of  Lavender's  especial  patrons, 
and  to  whom  he  had  introduced  Mrs.  Kavanagh  and  her 
daughter,  Sheila  felt  that  she  was  a  stranger,  an  interloper, 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED  243 

a  "  third  wheel  to  the  cart."  She  scarcely  spoke  a  word. 
She  looked  at  the  sea  ;  but  she  had  almost  grown  to  regard 
that  great  plain  of  smooth  water  as  a  melancholy  and 
monotonous  thing — not  the  bright  and  boisterous  sea  of  her 
youth,  with  its  winding  channels,  its  secret  bays  and  rocks, 
its  salt  winds,  and  rushing  waves.  She  was  disappointed 
with  the  perpetual  wall  of  white  cliff,  where  she  had 
expected  to  see  something  of  the  black  and  rugged  shores  of 
the  north.  She  had  as  yet  made  no  acquaintance  with  the 
sea-life  of  the  place  ;  she  did  not  know  where  the  curers 
lived  ;  whether  they  gave  the  fishermen  credit  and  cheated 
them  ;  whether  the  people  about  here  made  any  use  of  the 
back  of  the  dog-fish,  or  could,  in  hard  seasons,  cook  any  of 
the  wild  fowl ;  what  the  ling,  and  the  cod,  and  the  skate 
fetched  ;  where  the  wives  and  daughters  sat  and  span  and 
carded  their  wool ;  whether  they  knew  how  to  make  a  good 
dish  of  cockles  boiled  in  milk.  She  smiled  to  herself  when 
she  thought  of  asking  Mrs.  Lorraine  about  any  such  things  ; 
but  she  still  cherished  some  vague  hope  that,  before  she  left 
Brighton,  she  would  have  some  little  chance  of  getting  near  to 
the  sea  and  learning  a  little  of  the  sea-life  down  in  the  south. 

And  as  they  drove  along  the  King's  Eoad  on  this  after- 
noon, she  suddenly  called  out — 

"  Look,  Frank  !  " 

On  the  steps  of  the  Old  Ship  hotel  stood  a  small  man 
with  a  brown  face,  a  brown  beard,  and  a  beaver  hat,  who 
was  calmly  smoking  a  wooden  pipe,  and  looking  at  an  old 
woman  selling  oranges  in  front  of  him. 

"  It  is  Mr.  Ingram  !  "  said  Sheila. 

"  Which  is  Mr.  Ingram  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Lorraine,  with 
considerable  interest,  for  she  had  often  heard  Lavender 
speak  of  his  friend.  "  Not  that  little  man  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Lavender,  coldly  :  he  could  have  wished  that 
Ingram  had  had  some  little  more  regard  for  appearances  in 
BO  public  a  place  as  the  main  thoroughfare  of  Brighton. 

"  Won't  you  stop  and  speak  to  him  ?  "  said  Sheila,  with 
great  surprise. 

"  We  are  late  already,"  said  her  husband.  "  But  if  you 
would  rather  go  back  and  speak  to  him  than  go  on  with  us, 
you  may." 

Sheila  said  nothing  more  ;  and  so  they  drove  on  to  the 

R  2 


244  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

end  of  the  Parade,  where  Lady  Leveret  held  possession  of  a 
big  white  house  with  pillars,  overlooking  the  broad  street 
and  the  sea. 

But  next  morning  she  said  to  him — 

"  I  suppose  you  will  be  riding  with  Mrs.  Lorraine  this 
morning  ? " 

"  I  suppose  so." 

"  I  should  like  to  go  and  see  Mr.  Ingram,  if  he  is  still 
there,"  she  said. 

"  Ladies  don't  generally  call  at  hotels  and  ask  to  see 
gentlemen,"  he  said,  with  a  laugh  and  a  shrug  ;  "  but  of 
course  you  don't  care  for  that." 

The  permission,  if  it  was  intended  to  be  a  permission, 
was  not  very  gracious,  but  Sheila  accepted  it,  and  very 
shortly  after  breakfast  she  changed  her  dress  and  went  out. 
How  pleasant  it  was  to  feel  that  she  was  going  to  see  her 
old  friend,  to  whom  she  could  talk  freely  !  The  morning 
seemed  to  know  of  her  gladness,  and  to  share  in  it ;  for 
there  was  a  brisk  southerly  breeze  blowing  fresh  in  from  the 
sea,  and  the  waves  were  leaping  white  in  the  sunlight. 
There  was  no  more  sluggishness  in  the  air,  or  the  grey  sky, 
or  the  leaden  plain  of  the  water.  Sheila  knew  that  the 
blood  was  mantling  in  her  cheeks  ;  that  her  heart  was  full 
of  joy  ;  that  her  whole  frame  so  tingled  with  life  and  spirit 
that,  had  she  been  in  Borva,  she  would  have  challenged 
her  deerhound  to  a  race,  and  fled  down  the  side  of  the  hill 
with  him  to  the  small  bay  of  white  sand  below  the  house. 
She  did  not  pause  for  a  minute  when  she  reached  the  hotel. 
She  went  up  the  steps,  opened  the  door,  and  entered  the 
square  hall.  There  was  an  odour  of  tobacco  in  the  place  ; 
and  several  gentlemen  standing  about  rather  confused  her, 
for  she  had  to  glance  at  them  in  looking  for  a  waiter. 
Another  minute  would  probably  have  found  her  a  trifle 
embarrassed  ;  but  just  at  this  crisis  she  saw  Ingram  him- 
self come  out  of  a  room,  with  a  cigarette  in  his  hand.  He 
threw  away  the  cigarette,  and  came  forward  to  her  with 
amazement  in  his  eyes. 

"  Where  is  Mr.  Lavender  ?  Has  he  gone  into  the 
smoking-room  for  me  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  He  is  not  here,"  said  Sheila.  "  I  have  come  for  you 
by  myself." 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED  24$ 

For  a  moment,  too,  Ingram  felt  the  eyes  of  the  men  on 
him ;  but  directly  he  said,  with  a  fine  air  of  carelessness, 
"  Well,  that  is  very  good  of  you.  Shall  we  go  out  for  a 
stroll  until  your  husband  conies  ?  " 

So  he  opened  the  door  and  followed  her  outside,  into  the 
fresh  air  and  the  roar  of  the  waves. 

"Well,  Sheila,"  he  said,  "this  is  very  good  of  you, 
really  :  where  is  Lavender  ?  " 

'  He  generally  rides  with  Mrs.  Lorraine  in  the  morning." 

'  And  what  do  you  do  ?  " 

'  I  sit  at  the  window." 

'  Don't  you  go  boating  ?  " 

'  No,  I  have  not  been  in  a  boat.  They  do  not  care  for  it. 
And  yesterday,  it  was  a  letter  to  Papa  I  was  writing,  and  I 
could  tell  him  nothing  about  the  people  here  or  the  fishing." 

"  But  you  could  not  in  any  case,  Sheila.  I  suppose  you 
would  like  to  know  what  they  pay  for  their  lines  ;  and  how 
they  dye  their  wool,  and  so  on ;  but  you  would  find  the 
fishermen  here  don't  live  in  that  way  at  all.  They  are  all 
civilized,  you  know ;  they  buy  their  cloth  in  the  shops. 
They  never  eat  any  sort  of  seaweed  ;  or  dye  with  it  either. 
However,  I  will  tell  you  all  about  it  by  and  by.  At  present, 
I  suppose  you  are  returning  to  your  hotel." 

A  quick  look  of  pain  and  disappointment  passed  over  her 
face,  as  she  turned  to  him  for  a  moment,  with  something  of 
entreaty  in  her  eyes. 

"  I  came  to  see  you,"  she  said.  "  But  perhaps  you  have 
an  engagement — I  do  not  wish  to  take  up  any  of  your  time 
— if  you  please,  I  will  go  back  alone  to " 

"  Now,  Sheila,"  he  said,  with  a  smile,  and  with  the  old 
friendly  look  she  knew  so  well,  "  you  must  not  talk  like 
that  to  me.  I  won't  have  it.  You  know  I  came  down  to 
Brighton  because  you  asked  me  to  come ;  and  my  time  is 
altogether  at  your  service." 

"  And  you  have  no  engagement  just  now  ?  "  said  Sheila, 
with  her  face  brightening. 
•    "No." 

"And  you  will  take  me  down  to  the  shore,  to  see  the 
boats,  and  the  nets  ?  Or  could  we  go  out  and  run  along  the 
coast  for  a  few  miles  ?  It  is  a  good  wind." 

"  Oh  I  should  be  very  glad,"  said  Ingrarn,  slowly.     "  I 


246  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

should  be  delighted.  But,  you  see,  wouldn't  your  husband 
think  it — wouldn't  he,  you  know — wouldn't  it  seem  just  a 
little  odd  to  him  if  you  were  to  go  away  like  that  ?  " 

"  He  is  to  go  riding  with  Mrs.  Lorraine,"  said  Sheila, 
quite  simply.  "  He  does  not  want  me." 

"  Of  course  you  told  him  you  were  coming  to  see — you 
were  going  to  call  at  the  Old  Ship  ?  " 

"  Yes.  And  I  am  sure  he  would  not  be  surprised  if  I  did 
not  return  for  a  long  time." 

"  Are  you  quite  sure,  Sheila  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  am  quite  sure." 

"  Very  well.  Now  I  shall  tell  you  what  I  am  going  to 
do  with  you.  I  shall  first  go  and  bribe  some  mercenary 
boatman  to  let  us  have  one  of  those  small  sailing  boats 
committed  to  our  own  exclusive  charge.  I  shall  constitute 
you  skipper  and  pilot  of  the  craft,  and  hold  you  responsible 
for  my  safety.  I  shall  smoke  a  pipe  to  prepare  me  for 
whatever  may  befall " 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Sheila.  "  You  must  work  very  hard  ; 
and  I  will  see  if  you  remember  all  that  I  taught  you  in  the 
Lewis.  And  if  we  can  have  some  long  lines,  we  might  get 
some  fish.  Will  they  pay  more  than  thirty  shillings  for 
their  long  lines  in  this  country  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Ingram.  "  I  believe  most  of  the 
fishermen  here  live  upon  the  shillings  they  get  from  passers- 
by,  after  a  little  conversation  about  the  weather,  and  their 
hard  lot  in  life  ;  so  that  one  doesn't  talk  to  them  more  than 
one  can  help." 

"  But  why  do  they  need  the  money  ?     Is  there  no  fish  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  that,  either.  I  suppose  there  is  some  good 
fishing  in  the  winter,  and  sometimes  in  the  summer  they  get 
some  big  shoals  of  mackerel." 

"  It  was  a  letter  I  had  last  Aveek  from  the  sister  of  one  of 
the  men  of  the  Nighean-dubh,  and  she  told  me  that  they  have 
been  very  lucky  all  through  the  last  season,  and  it  was  near 
six  thousand  ling  they  got." 

"  But  I  suppose  they  are  hopelessly  in  debt  to  some  curer 
or  other  up  about  Habost  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  not  all.  It  is  their  own  boat — it  is  not  hired  to 
them.  And  it  is  a  very  good  boat  whatever." 

That  unlucky  "  whatever  "  had  slipped  out  inadvertently  ; 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED  247 

the  moment  she  had  uttered  it,  she  blushed,  and  looked 
timidly  towards  her  companion,  fearing  that  he  had  noticed 
it.  He  had  not.  How  could  she  have  made  such  a  blunder  ? 
she  asked  herself.  She  had  been  most  particular  about  the 
avoidance  of  this  word,  even  in  the  Lewis.  The  girl  did 
not  know  that,  from  the  moment  she  had  left  the  steps  of 
the  Old  Ship,  in  company  with  this  good  friend  of  hers,  she 
had  unconsciously  fallen  into  much  of  her  old  pronunciation 
and  her  old  habit  of  speech  ;  while  Ingram,  much  more 
familiar  with  the  Sheila  of  Borvabost  and  Loch  Roag  than 
with  the  Sheila  of  Notting  Hill  and  Kensington  Gardens, 
did  not  perceive  the  difference,  but  was  mightily  pleased  to 
hear  her  talk  in  any  fashion  whatsoever. 

By  fair  means  or  foul,  Ingram  managed  to  secure  a  pretty 
little  sailing  vessel  which  lay  at  anchor  out  near  the  West 
Pier  ;  and  when  the  pecuniary  negotiations  were  over,  Sheila 
was  invited  to  walk  down  over  the  loose  stones  of  the  beach, 
and  take  command  of  the  craft.  The  boatman  was  still 
very  doubtful.  When  he  had  pulled  them  out  to  the  boat, 
however,  and  put  them  on  board,  he  speedily  perceived  that 
this  handsome  young  lady  not  only  knew  everything  that 
had  to  be  done  in  the  way  of  getting  the  small  vessel  ready, 
but  had  a  very  smart  and  business-like  way  of  doing  it.  It 
was  very  obvious  that  her  companion  did  not  know  half  as 
much  about  the  matter  as  she  did  ;  but  he  was  obedient  and 
Avatchful,  and  presently  they  were  ready  to  start.  The  man 
eventually  put  off  for  shore  again,  much  relieved  in  mind, 
but  not  a  little  puzzled  to  understand  where  the  young  lady 
had  picked  up,  not  merely  her  knowledge  of  boats,  but  the 
ready  way  in  which  she  put  her  delicate  hands  to  hard  work, 
and  the  prompt  and  effectual  fashion  in  which  she  accom- 
plished it. 

"  Shall  I  belay  away  the  jib,  or  reef  the  upper  hatchways  ?  " 
Ingram  called  out  to  Sheila,  when  they  had  fairly  got  under 
way. 

She  did  not  answer  for  a  moment ;  she  was  still  watching, 
with  a  critical  eye,  the  manner  in  which  the  boat  answered 
to  her  wishes  ;  and  then,  when  everything  promised  well, 
and  she  was  quite  satisfied,  she  said — 

"  If  you  will  take  my  place  for  a  moment,  and  keep  a 
good  look-out,  I  will  put  on  my  gloves." 


248  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

She  surrendered  the  tiller  and  the  main-sheet  into  his 
care  ;  and,  with  another  glance  ahead,  pulled  out  her  gloves. 

"  You  did  not  use  to  fear  the  salt  water  or  the  sun  on 
your  hands,  Sheila,"  said  her  companion. 

"  I  do  not  now,"  she  said  ;  "  but  Frank  would  be  displeased 
to  see  my  hands  brown.  He  has  himself  such  pretty  hands." 

What  Ingram  thought  about  Frank  Lavender's  delicate 
hands  he  was  not  going  to  say  to  his  Avife  ;  and,  indeed,  he 
was  called  upon  at  this  moment  to  let  Sheila  resume  her 
post,  which  she  did  with  an  air  of  great  satisfaction  and 
content. 

And  so  they  ran  lightly  through  the  curling  and  dashing 
water  on  this  brilliant  day,  caring  little  indeed  for  the  great 
town  that  lay  away  to  leeward,  with  its  shining  terraces  sur- 
mounted by  a  faint  cloud  of  smoke.  Here  all  the  roar  of 
carriages  and  people  was  unheard  ;  the  only  sound  that 
accompanied  their  talk  was  the  splashing  of  the  waves  at  the 
prow  and  the  hissing  and  gurgling  of  the  water  along  the 
boat.  The  south  wind  blew  fresh  and  sweet  around  them, 
filling  the  broad,  white  sail,  and  fluttering  the  small  pennon 
up  there  in  the  blue.  It  seemed  strange  to  Sheila  that  she 
should  be  so  much  alone  with  so  great  a  town  close  by  ;  that 
under  the  boom  she  could  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  noisy  Parade 
without  hearing  any  of  its  clamour.  But  there,  away  to 
windward,  there  was  no  more  trace  of  city  life — only  the 
great  blue  sea,  with  its  waves  flowing  on  towards  them  from 
out  of  the  far  horizon,  and  with  here  and  there  a  pale  ship 
just  appearing  on  the  line  where  the  sky  and  ocean  met. 

"  Well,  Sheila,  how  do  you  like  to  be  on  the  sea  again  ?  " 
said  Ingram,  getting  out  his  pipe. 

"  Oh,  very  well.  But  you  must  not  smoke,  Mr.  Ingram  ; 
you  must  attend  to  the  boat." 

"  Don't  you  feel  at  home  in  her  yet  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  her,"  said  Sheila,  regarding  the  lines 
of  the  small  craft  with  the  eye  of  a  shipbuilder,  "  but  she  is 
very  narrow  in  the  beam,  and  she  carries  too  much  sail  for 
so  small  a  thing.  I  suppose  they  have  not  any  squalls  on 
this  coast,  where  you  have  no  hills,  and  no  Narrows  to  go 
through." 

"  It  doesn't  remind  you  of  Lewis,  does  it  ?  "  he  said, 
filling  his  pipe  all  the  same. 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED  249 

"A  little — out  there  it  does,"  she  said,  turning  to  the 
broad  plain  of  the  sea  ;  "  but  it  is  not  much  that  is  in  this 
country  that  is  like  the  Lewis.  Sometimes  I  think  I  shall 
be  a  stranger  when  I  go  back  to  the  Lewis,  and  the  people 
will  scarcely  know  me,  and  everything  will  be  changed." 

He  looked  at  her  for  a  second  or  two.  Then  he  laid  down 
his  pipe,  which  had  not  been  lit,  and  said  to  her,  gravely — 

"  I  want  you  to  tell  me,  Sheila,  why  you  have  got  into  a 
habit  lately  of  talking  about  many  things,  and  especially 
about  your  home  in  the  north,  in  that  sad  way.  You  did 
not  do  that  when  you  came  to  London  first ;  and  yet  it  was 
then  that  you  might  have  been  struck  and  shocked  by  the 
difference.  You  had  no  home-sickness  for  a  long  time — but 
is  it  home-sickness,  Sheila  ?  " 

How  was  she  to  tell  him  ?  For  an  instant  she  was  on  the 
point  of  giving  him  all  her  confidence  ;  and  then,  somehow 
or  other,  it  occurred  to  her  that  she  would  be  wronging  her 
husband  in  seeking  such  sympathy  from  a  friend  as  she  had 
been  expecting — and  expecting  in  vain — from  him. 

"  Perhaps  it  is  home-sickness,"  she  said,  in  a  low  voice, 
while  she  pretended  to  be  busy  tightening  up  the  mainsail 
sheet.  "  1  should  like  to  see  Borva  again." 

"  But  you  don't  want  to  live  there  all  your  life  ?  "  he  said. 
"  You  know  that  would  be  unreasonable,  Sheila,  even  if  your 
husband  could  manage  it,  and  I  don't  suppose  he  can. 
Surely  your  papa  does  not  expect  you  to  go  and  li ve  in  Lewis 
always  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,"  she  said,  eagerly.  "  You  must  not  think  my 
papa  wishes  anything  like  that.  It  will  be  much  less  than 
that  he  was  thinking  of  when  he  used  to  speak  to  Mr. 
Lavender  about  it.  And  I  do  not  wish  to  live  in  the  Lewis 
always — I  have  no  dislike  to  London — none  at  all — only 
that— that " 

And  here  she  paused. 

"  Come,  Sheila,"  he  said,  in  the  quiet,  paternal  way  to 
which  she  had  been  accustomed  to  yield  up  all  her  own 
wishes  in  the  old  days  of  their  friendship,  "  I  want  you  to 
be  frank  with  me,  and  tell  me  what  is  the  matter.  I  know 
there  is  something  wrong  ;  I  have  seen  it  for  some  time 
back.  Now  you  know  I  took  the  responsibility  of  your 
marriage  on  my  shoulders  ;  and  I  am  responsible  to  you, 


250  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

and  to  your  papa  and  to  myself,  for  your  comfort  and 
happiness.  Do  you  understand  ?  " 

She  still  hesitated — grateful  in  her  inmost  heart  ;  but 
still  doubtful  as  to  what  she  should  do. 

"  You  look  on  me  as  an  intermeddler,"  he  said,  with  a 
smile. 

"  No,  no  !  "  she  said.  "  You  have  always  been  my  good 
friend." 

"  But  I  have  intermeddled  none  the  less — don't  you 
remember  when  I  told  you  I  was  prepared  to  accept  the 
consequences  ?  " 

It  seemed  so  long  a  time  since  then  ! 

"  And  once  having  begun  to  intermeddle,  I  can't  stop, 
don't  you  see  ?  Now,  Sheila,  you'll  be  a  good  little  girl, 
and  do  what  I  tell  you.  You'll  take  the  boat  a  long  way 
out,  we'll  put  her  head  round,  take  down  the  sails,  and  let 
her  tumble  about  and  drift  for  a  time,  till  you  tell  me  all 
about  your  troubles,  and  then  we'll  see  what  can  be  done." 

She  obeyed  in  silence  ;  with  her  face  grown  grave  enough 
in  anticipation  of  the  coming  disclosures.  She  knew  that 
the  first  plunge  into  them  would  be  keenly  painful  to  her  ; 
but  there  was  a  feeling  at  her  heart  that,  this  penance  over, 
a  great  relief  would  be  at  hand.  She  trusted  this  man  as 
she  would  have  trusted  her  own  father.  She  knew  that 
there  was  nothing  on  earth  he  would  not  attempt,  if  he 
fancied  it  would  help  her.  And  she  knew,  too,  that  having 
experienced  so  much  of  his  great  unselfishness  and  kindness 
and  thoughtfulness,  she  was  ready  to  obey  him  implicitly, 
in  anything  that  he  could  assure  her  was  right  for  her  to  do. 

How  far  away  seemed  the  white  cliffs  now,  and  the  faint 
green  downs  above  them  !  Brighton,  lying  farther  to  the 
west,  had  become  dim  and  yellow,  and  over  it  a  cloud  of 
smoke  lay  thick  and  brown  in  the  sunlight.  A  mere  streak 
showed  the  line  of  the  King's  Road  and  all  its  carriages  and 
people  ;  the  beach  beneath  could  just  be  made  out  by  the 
white  dots  of  the  bathing-machines.  The  brown  fishing- 
boats  seemed  to  be  close  in  shore  ;  the  two  piers  were  fore- 
shortened into  small  dusky  masses  marking  the  beginning 
of  the  sea.  And  then,  from  these  distant  and  faintly-defined 
objects,  out  here  to  the  side  of  the  small  white-and-pink 
boat,  that  lay  lightly  in  the  lapping  water,  stretched  that 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED  251 

moving  network  of  waves,  with  here  and  there  a  sharp 
gleam  of  white  foam  curling  over  arnid  the  dark  blue-green. 
Ingram  took  his  seat  by  Sheila's  side,  so  that  he  should 
not  have  to  look  in  her  downcast  face ;  and  then,  with 
some  little  preliminary  nervousness  and  hesitation,  the  girl 
told  her  story.  She  told  it  to  sympathetic  ears  ;  and  yet 
Ingram — having  partly  guessed  how  matters  stood,  and 
anxious,  perhaps,  to  know  whether  much  of  her  trouble 
might  not  be  merely  the  result  of  fancies  which  could  be 
reasoned  and  explained  away — was  careful  to  avoid  any- 
thing like  corroboration.  He  let  her  talk  in  her  own  simple 
and  artless  way ;  and  the  girl  spoke  to  him,  after  a  little 
while,  with  an  earnestness  which  showed  how  deeply  she 
felt  her  position.  At  the  very  outset  she  told  him  that  her 
love  for  her  husband  had  never  altered  for  a  moment — that 
all  the  prayer  and  desire  of  her  heart  was  that  they  two 
might  be  to  each  other  as  she  had  at  one  time  hoped  they 
would  be,  when  he  got  to  know  her  better.  She  went  over 
all  the  story  of  her  coming  to  London,  of  her  first  ex- 
periences there,  of  the  conviction  that  grew  upon  her  that 
her  husband  was  somehow  disappointed  with  her  and  only 
anxious  now  that  she  should  conform  to  the  ways  and  habits 
of  the  people  with  Avhom  he  associated.  She  spoke  of  her 
efforts  to  obey  his  wishes,  and  how  heart-sick  she  was  with 
her  failures,  and  of  the  dissatisfaction  which  he  showed. 
She  spoke  of  the  people  to  whom  he  devoted  his  life  ;  of  the 
way  in  which  he  passed  his  time  ;  and  of  the  impossibility  of 
her  showing  him,  so  long  as  he  thus  remained  apart  from 
her,  the  love  she  had  in  her  heart  for  him,  and  the  longing 
for  sympathy  which  that  love  involved.  And  then  she 
came  to  the  question  of  Mrs.  Lorraine  ;  and  here  it  seemed 
to  Ingram  she  was  trying  at  once  to  put  her  husband's 
conduct  in  the  most  favourable  light,  and  to  blame  herself 
for  her  unreasonableness.  Mrs.  Lorraine  was  a  pleasant 
companion  to  him  ;  she  could  talk  cleverly  and  brightly ; 
she  was  pretty,  and  she  knew  a  large  number  of  his  ac- 
quaintances. Sheila  was  anxious  to  show  that  it  was  the 
most  natural  thing  in  the  world  that  her  husband,  finding 
her  so  out  of  communion  Avith  his  ordinary  surroundings, 
should  make  an  especial  friend  of  this  graceful  and  fascinat- 
ing woman.  And  if,  at  times,  it  hurt  her  to  be  left  alone 


252  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

— but  here  the 'girl  broke  down  somewhat,  and  Ingram 
pretended  not  to  know  that  she  was  sobbing. 

These  were  strange  things  to  be  told  to  a  man  ;  and  they 
were  difficult  to  answer.  But  out  of  these  revelations — 
which  rather  took  the  form  of  a  cry  than  of  any  distinct 
statement — he  formed  a  notion  of  Sheila's  position  suf- 
ficiently exact  ;  and  the  more  he  looked  at  it,  the  more 
alarmed  and  pained  he  grew,  for  he  knew  more  of  her  than 
her  husband  did.  He  knew  the  hidden  force  of  character 
that  underlay  all  her  submissive  gentleness.  He  knew  the 
keen  sense  of  pride  her  Highland  birth  had  given  her  ;  and 
he  feared  what  might  happen  if  this  sensitive  and  proud 
heart  of  hers  were  driven  into  rebellion  by  some — possibly 
unintentional — wrong.  And  this  high-spirited,  fearless, 
honour-loving  girl — who  was  gentle  and  obedient,  not 
through  any  timidity  or  limpness  of  character,  but  because 
she  considered  it  her  duty  to  be  gentle  and  obedient — was 
to  be  cast  aside,  and  have  her  tenderest  feelings  outraged 
and  wounded,  for  the  sake  of  an  unscrupulous,  shallow- 
brained  woman  of  fashion,  who  was  not  fit  to  be  Sheila's 
waiting-maid.  Ingram  had  never  seen  Mrs.  Lorraine  ;  but 
he  had  formed  his  own  opinion  of  her.  The  opinion,  based 
upon  nothing,  was  wholly  wrong  ;  but  it  served  to  increase, 
if  that  were  possible,  his  sympathy  with  Sheila,  and  his 
resolve  to  interfere  on  her  behalf  at  whatever  cost. 

"  Sheila,"  he  said,  gravely,  putting  his  hand  on  her 
shoulder,  as  if  she  were  still  the  little  girl  who  used  to  run 
wild  with  him  about  the  Borva  rocks,  "you  are  a  good 
woman." 

He  added  to  himself  that  Lavender  knew  little  of  the 
value  of  the  wife  he  had  got ;  but  he  dared  not  say  that  to 
Sheila,  who  would  suffer  no  imputation  against  her  husband 
to  be  uttered  in  her  presence,  however  true  it  might  be, 
or  however  much  she  had  cause  to  know  it  to  be  true. 

"  And  after  all,"  he  said,  in  a  lighter  voice,  "  I  think  I 
can  do  something  to  mend  all  this.  I  will  say  for  Frank 
Lavender  that  he  is  a  thoroughly  good  fellow  at  heart ;  and 
that  when  you  appeal  to  him,  and  put  things  fairly  before 
him,  and  show  him  what  he  ought  to  do,  there  is  not  a 
more  honourable  and  straightforward  man  in  the  world.  I 
believe,  if  I  wanted  money  this  moment,  and  it  could  only  be 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED  253 

got  that  way,  he  would  live  for  a  month  on  bread  and  water 
to  give  it  me.  He  is  not  selfish,  Sheila,  but  he  is  thoughtless. 
He  has  been  led  away  by  these  people,  you  know,  and  has 
not  been  aware  of  what  you  were  suffering.  When  I  put  the 
matter  before  him,  you  will  see  it  will  be  all  right ;  and  I 
hope  to  persuade  him  to  give  up  this  constant  idling,  and 
take  to  his  work,  and  have  something  to  live  for.  I  wish 
you  and  I  together  could  get  him  to  go  away  from  London 
altogether — get  him  to  take  to  serious  landscape  painting 
on  some  wild  coast— the  Galway  coast  for  example 

"  Why  not  the  Lewis  ?  "  said  Sheila,  her  heart  turning  to 
the  north  as  naturally  as  the  needle. 

"  Or  to  the  Lewis.  And  I  should  like  you  and  him  to 
live  away  from  hotels,  and  luxuries,  and  all  such  things  ; 
and  he  would  work  all  day,  and  you  would  do  the  cooking, 
in  some  small  cottage  you  could  rent,  you  know " 

"  You  make  me  so  happy  in  thinking  of  that,"  she  said, 
with  her  eyes  growing  wet  again. 

"  And  why  should  he  not  do  so  ?  There  is  nothing 
romantic  or  idyllic  about  it ;  but  a  good,  wholesome,  plain 
sort  of  life,  that  is  likely  to  make  an  honest  painter  of  him, 
and  bring  both  of  you  some  well-earned  money.  And  you 
might  have  a  boat  like  this " 

"  We  are  drifting  too  far  in,"  said  Sheila,  suddenly  rising. 
"  Shall  we  go  back  now  ?  " 

"  By  all  means,"  he  said  ;  and  so  the  small  boat  was  put 
under  canvas  again,  and  was  soon  making  way  through  the 
lapping  waves. 

"  Well,  all  this  seems  simple  enough,  doesn't  it  ? "  said 
Ingram. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  girl,  with  her  face  full  of  hope. 

"  And  then  of  course,  when  you  are  quite  comfortable 
together,  and  making  heaps  of  money,  you  can  turn  round 
and  abuse  me,  and  say  I  made  all  the  mischief  to  begin 
with." 

"  Did  we  do  so  before,  when  you  were  very  kind  to  us  ? " 
she  said,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  Oh,  but  that  was  different.  To  interfere  on  behalf  of 
two  young  folks  who  are  in  love  with  each  other  is  danger- 
ous ;  but  to  interfere  between  two  people  who  are  married 
— that  is  a  certain  quarrel.  I  wonder  what  you  will  say 


254  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

when  you  are  scolding  me,  Sheila,  and  bidding  me  get  out 
of  the  house.  I  have  never  heard  you  scold.  Is  it  Gaelic 
or  English  you  prefer  ?  " 

"  I  prefer  whichever  can  say  the  nicest  things  to  my  very 
good  friends,  and  tell  them  how  grateful  I  am  for  their 
kindness  to  me." 

"  Ah,  well,  we'll  see." 

When  they  got  back  to  the  shore  it  was  half -past  one. 

"  You  Avill  come  and  have  some  luncheon  with  us,"  said 
Sheila,  when  they  had  gone  up  the  steps  and  into  the 
King's  Road. 

"  Will  that  lady  be  there  ?  " 

"  Mrs.  Lorraine  ?     Yes." 

"  Then  I'll  come  some  other  time." 

"  But  why  not  now  ?  "  said  Sheila.  "  It  is  not  necessary 
that  you  will  see  us  only  to  speak  about  those  things  we 
have  been  talking  over  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  not  at  all.  If  you  and  Mr.  Lavender  were  by 
yourselves  I  should  come  at  once." 

"  And  you  are  afraid  of  Mrs.  Lorraine  ?  "  said  Sheila, 
with  a  smile.  "  She  is  a  very  nice  lady  indeed — you  have 
no  cause  to  dislike  her." 

"  But  I  don't  want  to  meet  her,  Sheila,  that  is  all,"  he 
said  ;  and  she  knew  well,  by  the  precision  of  his  manner, 
that  there  was  no  use  trying  to  persuade  him  further. 

He  walked  along  to  the  hotel  with  her,  meeting  a  con- 
siderably stream  of  fashionably-dressed  folks  on  the  way  ; 
and  neither  he  nor  she  seemed  to  remember  that  his  costume 
• — a  blue  pilot-suit,  not  a  little  worn  and  soiled  with  the  salt 
water,  and  a  beaver  hat  that  had  seen  a  good  deal  of  rough 
weather  in  the  Highlands — was  much  more  comfortable  than 
elegant.  He  said  to  her,  as  he  left  her  at  the  hotel — 

"  Would  you  mind  telling  Lavender  I  shall  drop  in  at 
half-past  three,  and  that  I  expect  to  see  him  in  the  coffee- 
room  ?  I  shan't  keep  him  five  minutes." 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment ;  and  he  saw  that  she 
knew  what  his  appointment  meant,  for  her  eyes  were  full  of 
gladness  and  gratitude.  He  went  away  pleased  at  heart 
that  she  put  so  much  trust  in  him.  And  in  this  case,  he 
should  be  able  to  reward  that  confidence  ;  for  Lavender  was 
really  a  good  sort  of  fellow,  and  would  at  once  be  sorry 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED  255 

for  the  wrong  lie  had  unintentionally  done,  and  be  only  too 
anxious  to  set  it  right.  He  ought  to  leave  Brighton  at  once, 
and  London  too.  He  ought  to  go  away  into  the  country, 
or  by  the  sea-side,  and  begin  working  hard,  to  earn  money 
and  self-respect  at  the  same  time  ;  and  then,  in  this  friendly 
solitude,  he  would  get  to  know  something  about  Sheila's 
character  ;  and  begin  to  perceive  how  much  more  valuable 
were  these  genuine  qualities  of  heart  and  mind  than  any 
social  graces  such  as  might  lighten  up  a  dull  drawing-room. 
Had  Lavender  yet  learnt  to  know  the  worth  of  an  honest 
woman's  perfect  love  and  unquestioning  devotion  ?  Let 
these  considerations  be  put  before  him,  and  he  would  go 
and  do  the  right  thing,  as  he  had  many  a  time  done  before, 
in  obedience  to  the  lecturing  of  his  friend. 

Ingram  called  at  half -past  three,  and  went  into  the  coffee- 
room.  There  was  no  one  in  the  long,  large  room  ;  and  he 
sat  down  at  one  of  the  small  tables  by  the  windows,  from 
which  a  bit  of  lawn,  the  King's  Road,  and  the  sea  beyond, 
were  visible.  He  had  scarcely  taken  his  seat  when  Lavender 
came  in. 

"  Hallo,  Ingram,  how  are  you  ?  "  he  said,  in  his  freest 
and  friendliest  way.  "  Won't  you  come  up  stairs  ?  Have 
you  had  lunch  ?  Why  did  you  go  to  the  Old  Ship  ?  " 

"  I  always  go  to  the  Old  Ship,"  he  said.  "  No,  thank 
you,  I  won't  go  up  stairs." 

"  You  are  a  most  unsociable  sort  of  brute  ! "  said 
Lavender,  frankly.  "  I  shall  paint  a  portrait  of  you  some 
day,  in  the  character  of  Diogenes,  or  Apemantus,  or  some 
one  like  that.  I  should  like  to  do  a  portrait  of  you  for 
Sheila — how  pleased  she  would  be  !  Will  you  take  a  glass 
of  sherry  ?  " 

"  No,  thank  you." 

"  Will  you  have  a  game  of  billiards  ?  " 

"  No,  thank  you.  You  don't  mean  to  say  you  would  play 
billiards  on  such  a  day  as  this  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  fine  day,  isn't  it  ?  "  said  Lavender,  turning  to 
look  at  the  sunlit  road  and  the  blue  sea.  "  By  the  way, 
Sheila  tells  me  you  and  she  were  out  sailing  this  morning. 
It  must  have  been  very  pleasant — especially  for  her,  for  she 
is  mad  about  such  things.  What  a  curious  girl  she  is,  to  be 
sure  !  Don't  you  think  so  ?  " 


256  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean  by  curious,"  said  Ingram, 
coldly. 

"  Well,  you  know,  strange — odd — unlike  other  people  in 
her  ways  and  her  fancies.  Did  I  tell  you  about  my  aunt 
taking  her  to  see  some  friends  of  hers  at  Norwood  ?  No  ? 
Well,  Sheila  had  got  out  of  the  house  somehow  (I  suppose 
their  talking  did  not  interest  her),  and  when  they  went  in 
search  of  her,  they  found  her  in  the  cemetery,  crying  like  a 
child." 

"  What  about  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  Lavender,  with  a  smile,  "  merely  because  so 
many  people  had  died.  She  had  never  seen  anything  like 
that  before — you  know  the  small  churchyards  up  in  Lewis, 
with  their  inscriptions  in  Norwegian,  and  Danish,  and 
German.  I  suppose  the  first  sight  of  all  the  white  stones  at 
Norwood  was  too  much  for  her." 

"  Well,  I  don't  see  much  of  a  joke  in  that,"  said  Ingram. 

"  Who  said  there  was  any  joke  in  it  ?  "  cried  Lavender, 
impatiently.  "  I  never  knew  such  a  cantankerous  fellow  as 
you  are.  You  are  always  fancying  I  am  finding  fault  with 
Sheila.  And  I  never  do  anything  of  the  kind.  She  is  a 
very  good  girl  indeed.  I  have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  way  our  marriage  has  turned  out." 

"  Has  she  ?  " 

The  words  were  not  important  :  but  there  was  something 
in  the  tone  in  which  they  were  spoken  that  suddenly  checked 
Frank  Lavender's  careless  flow  of  speech.  He  looked  at 
Ingram  for  a  moment,  with  some  surprise,  and  then  he 
said — 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  will  tell  you  what  I  mean,"  said  Ingram,  slowly. 
"  It  is  an  awkward  thing  for  a  man  to  interfere  between 
husband  and  wife,  I  am  aware.  He  gets  something  else  than 
thanks  for  his  pains,  ordinarily  ;  but  sometimes  it  has  to  be 
done,  thanks  or  kicks.  Now  you  know,  Lavender,  I  had  a 
good  deal  to  do  with  helping  forward  your  marriage  in  the 
north ;  and  I  don't  remind  you  of  that  to  claim  anything 
in  the  way  of  consideration,  but  to  explain  why  I  think  I 
am  called  on  to  speak  to  you  now." 

Lavender  was  at  once  a  little  frightened  and  a  little 
irritated.  He  half  guessed  what  might  be  coming,  from  the 


slow  and  precise  manner  in  which  Ingram  talked.  That 
form  of  speech  had  vexed  him  many  a  time  before  ;  for  he 
would  rather  have  had  any  amount  of  wild  contention  and 
bandying  about  of  reproaches  than  the  calm,  unimpassioned 
and  sententious  setting  forth  of  his  shortcomings  to  which 
this  sallow  little  man  was  perhaps  too  much  addicted. 

"  I  suppose  Sheila  has  been  complaining  to  you,  then  ?  " 
said  Lavender,  coldly. 

"  You  may  suppose  what  you  like,"  said  Ingram,  quietly  ; 
"  but  it  would.be  a  good  deal  better  if  you  would  listen  to  me 
patiently,  and  deal  in  a  common-sense  fashion  with  what 
I  have  got  to  say.  It  is  nothing  very  desperate.  Nothing 
has  happened  that  is  not  of  easy  remedy  ;  while  the  remedy 
would  leave  you  and  her  in  a  much  better  position,  both  as 
regards  your  own  estimation  of  yourselves,  and  the  opinion 
of  your  friends." 

"  You  are  a  little  roundabout,  Ingram,"  said  Lavender, 
"  and  ornate.  But  I  suppose  all  lectures  begin  so.  Go  on." 

Ingram  laughed. 

"  If  I  am  too  formal,  it  is  because  I  don't  want  to  make 
mischief  by  any  exaggeration.  Look  here.  A  long  time 
before  you  were  married,  I  warned  you  that  Sheila  had 
very  keen  and  sensitive  notions  about  the  duties  that 
people  ought  to  perform — about  the  dignity  of  labour — 
about  the  proper  occupations  of  a  man,  and  so  forth. 
These  notions  you  may  regard  as  romantic  and  absurd,  if 
you  like  ;  but  you  might  as  well  try  to  change  the  colour 
of  her  eyes  as  attempt  to  alter  any  of  her  beliefs  in  that 
direction " 

"  And  she  thinks  that  I  am  idle  and  indolent,  because  I 
don't  care  what  a  washerwoman  pays  for  her  candles,"  said 
Lavender,  with  impetuous  contempt.  "  Well,  be  it  so. 
She  is  welcome  to  her  opinion.  But  if  she  is  grieved  at 
heart  because  I  can't  make  hobnailed  boots,  it  seems  to  me 
that  she  might  as  well  come  and  complain  to  myself,  instead 
of  going  and  detailing  her  wrongs  to  a  third  person,  and 
calling  for  his  sympathy  in  the  character  of  an  injured 
wife." 

For  an  instant  the  dark  eyes  of  the  man  opposite  him 
blazed  with  a  quick  fire — for  a  sneer  at  Sheila  was  worse 
than  an  insult  to  himself  ;  but  he  kept  quite  calm,  and  said, 

a 


258  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  That,  unfortunately,  is  not  what  is  troubling  her 

Lavender  rose  abruptly,  took  a  turn  up  and  down  the 
empty  room,  and  said — 

"  If  there  is  anything  the  matter,  I  prefer  to  hear  it  from 
herself.  It  is  not  respectful  to  me,  that  she  should  call  in  a 
third  person  to  humour  her  whims  and  fancies — 

"  Whims  and  fancies  !  "  said  Ingram,  with  that  dark  light 
returning  to  his  eyes.  "  Do  you  know  what  you  are  talk- 
ing about  ?  Do  you  know  that,  while  you  are  living  upon 
the  charity  of  a  Avoman  you  despise,  and  dawdling  about  the 
skirts  of  another  woman  who  laughs  at  you,  you  are  break- 
ing the  heart  of  a  girl  who  has  not  her  equal  in  England  ? 
Whims  and  fancies  !  Good  God  I  I  wonder  how  she  ever 
could  have " 

He  stopped,  but  the  mischief  was  done.  These  were  not 
prudent  words  to  come  from  a  man  who  wished  to  step  in 
as  mediator  between  husband  and  wife  ;  perhaps  they  were 
as  unjust  as  they  were  imprudent;  but  Ingram's  blaze 
of  wrath — kindled  by  what  he  considered  the  insufferable 
insolence  of  Lavender  in  thus  speaking  of  Sheila — had  swept 
all  notions  of  prudence  from  it.  Lavender,  indeed,  was 
much  cooler  than  he  was,  and  said,  with  an  affectation  of 
carelessness — 

"I  am  sorry  you  should  vex  yourself  so  much  about 
Sheila.  One  would  think  you  had  had  the  ambition  your- 
self, at  some  time  or  other,  to  play  the  part  of  husband  to 
her  ;  and  doubtless  then  you  would  have  made  sure  that  all 
her  idle  fancies  were  gratified.  As  it  is,  I  was  about  to 
relieve  you  from  the  trouble  of  further  explanation  by 
saying  that  I  was  quite  competent  to  manage  my  own 
affairs  ;  and  that  if  Sheila  has  any  complaint  to  make,  she 
must  make  it  to  me." 

Ingram  rose,  and  was  silent  for  a  moment. 

"  Lavender,"  he  said,  "  it  does  not  matter  much  whether 
you  and  I  quarrel — I  was  prepared  for  that,  in  any  case. 
But  I  ask  you  to  give  Sheila  a  chance  of  telling  you  what  I 
had  intended  to  tell  you." 

"  Indeed  I  shall  do  nothing  of  the  sort.  I  never  invite 
confidences.  When  she  wishes  to  tell  me  anything,  she 
knows  I  am  ready  to  listen.  But  I  am  quite  satisfied  with 
the  position  of  affairs  as  they  are  at  present." 


EXCHANGES  259 

"  God  help  you,  then,"  said  his  friend,  and  went  away, 
scarcely  daring  to  confess  to  himself  how  dark  the  future 
looked. 


CHAPTER  XVT. 

EXCHANGES. 

JUST  as  Frank  Lavender  went  down  stairs  to  meet  Ingram, 
a  letter  which  had  been  forwarded  from  London  was  brought 
to  Sheila.  It  bore  the  Lewis  postmark,  and  she  guessed  it 
was  from  Duncan ;  for  she  had  told  Mairi  to  ask  the  tall 
keeper  to  write,  and  she  knew  he  would  hasten  to  obey  her 
request  at  any  sacrifice  of  comfort  to  himself.  Sheila  sat 
down  to  read  the  letter  in  a  happy  frame  of  mind.  She  had 
every  confidence  that  all  her  troubles  were  about  to  be 
removed  now  that  her  good  friend  Ingram  had  gone  to  her 
husband ;  and  here  was  a  message  to  her  from  her  home, 
that  seemed,  even  before  she  read  it,  to  beg  of  her  to  come 
thither  light-hearted  and  joyous.  This  was  what  she  read  : — 

"  BORVABOST,   THE   ISLAND   OP   LEWS, 

"  the  third  Aug.,  18—. 

"  HONOURED  MRS.  LAVENDER, — It  waz  Mairi  waz  sayin 
that  you  will  want  me  to  write  to  you,  bit  I  am  not  good  at 
the  writen  whatever,  and  it  waz  2  years  since  I  was  writen 
to  Amerika,  to  John  Ferkason  that  kept  the  tea-shop  in 
Stornoway,  and  was  trooned  in  coming  home  the  verra  last 
year  before  this.  It  waz  Mairi  will  say  you  will  like  a  letter 
as  well  as  any  one  that  waz  goin  to  Amerika,  for  the  news 
and  the  things,  and  you  will  be  as  far  away  from  us  as  if 
you  waz  living  in  Amerika  or  Glaska.  But  there  is  not 
much  news,  for  the  lads  they  hev  all  pulled  up  the  boats, 
and  they  are  away  to  Wick,  and  Sandy  McDougal  that  waz 
living  by  Loch  Langavat  he  will  be  going  too,  for  he  waz 
up  at  the  sheilings  when  Mrs.  Paterson's  lasses  waz  there 
with  the  cows,  and  it  waz  Jeanie  the  youngest  and  him  made 
it  up,  and  he  haz  twenty-five  pounds  in  the  bank,  which  is 
a  good  thing  too  mirover  for  the  young  couple.  It  waz 
many  a  one  waz  sayin  when  the  cows  and  the  sheep  come 
home  from  the  sheilings  that  never  afore  waz  Miss  Sheila 

s  2 


260  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

away  from  Loch  Koag  when  the  cattle  would  be  swimmin 
across  the  loch  to  the  island ;  and  I  will  say  to  many  of 
them  verra  well  you  will  wait  and  you  will  see  Miss  Sheila 
back  again  in  the  Lews  and  it  wazna  allwas  you  would  lif 
away  from  your  own  home  where  you  was  born  and  the 
people  will  know  you  from  the  one  year  to  the  next.     John 
McNicol  of  Habost  he  will  be  verra  bad  three  months  or 
two  months  ago,  and  we  waz  thinkin  he  will  die,  and  him 
with  a  wife  and  five  bairns  too,  and  four  cows  and  a  cart, 
but  the  doctor  took  a  great  dale  of  blood  from  him,  and  he 
is  now  verra  middling  well,  though  wakely  on  the  legs.     It 
would  hev  been  a  bad  thing  if  Mr.  McNicol  was  dead,  for 
he  will  be  verra  good  at  pentin  a  door,  and  he  haz  between 
fifteen  pounds  and  ten  pounds  in  the  bank  at  Stornoway, 
and  four  cows  too  and  a  cart,  and  he  is  a  ferra  religious  man, 
and  has  great  skill  o  the  psalm-tunes,  and  he  toesna  get 
trunk  now  more  as  twice  or  as  three  times  in  the  two  weeks. 
It  was  his  dochter  Betsy,  a  verra  fine  lass,  that  waz  come  to 
Borvabost,  and  it  waz  the  talk  among  many  that  Alister-nan- 
Each  he  waz  thinkin  of  makin  up  to  her,  but  there  will  be 
a  great  laugh  all  over  the  island,  and  she  will  be  verra  angry 
and  say  she  will  not  tek  him  no  if  his  house  had  a  door  of 
silfer  to  it  for  she  will  hev  no  one  that  toesna  go  to  the 
Caithness  fishins  wi  the  other  lads.     It  waz  blew  verra  hard 
here  the  last  night  or  two  or  three.     There  iss  a  great  deal 
of  salmon  in  the  rivers  ;  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  he  will  be  going 
across  to  Grimersta,  the  day  after  to-morrow,  or  the  next 
day  before  that,  and  the  English  gentlemen  hev  been  there 
more  as  two  or  three  weeks,  and  they  will  be  getting  verra 
good  sport.     Mairi  she  will  be  writen  another  letter  to  you 
to-moiTow,  Miss  Sheila,  and  she  will  be  telling  you  all  the 
news  of  the  house.     Mairi  waz  sayin  she  will  be  goin  to 
London  when  the  harvest  was  got  in,  and  Scarlett  will  say 
to  her  that  no  one  will  let  her  land  on  the  island  again  if 
she  toesna  bring  you  back  with  her  to  the  island  and  to  your 
own  house.     If  it  waz  not  too  much  trouble,  Miss  Sheila,  it 
would  be  a  proud  day  for  Scarlett  if  you  waz  send  me  a  line 
or  two  lines  to  say  if  you  will  be  coming  to  the  Lews  this 
summer  or  before  the  winter  is  over  whatever.     I  remain, 
Honoured  Mrs.  Lavender,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  DUNCAN  MACDONALD*" 


EXCHANGES  261 

"  This  summer  or  winter,"  said  Sheila  to  herself,  with  a 
happy  light  on  her  face  ;  "  why  not  now  ?  "  Why  should 
she  not  go  down  stairs  to  the  coffee-room  of  the  hotel,  and 
place  this  invitation  in  the  hands  of  her  husband  and  his 
friend  ?  Would  not  its  garrulous  simplicity  recall  to  both 
of  them  the  island  they  used  to  find  so  pleasant  ?  Would 
not  they  suddenly  resolve  to  leave  behind  them  London  and 
its  ways  and  people,  even  this  monotonous  sea  out  there, 
and  speed  away  northward  till  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
great  and  rolling  Minch,  with  its  majestic  breadth  of  sky 
and  its  pale  blue  islands  lying  far  away  at  the  horizon  ? 
Then  the  happy  landing  at  Stornoway — her  father,  and 
Duncan,  and  Mairi  all  on  the  quay — the  rapid  drive  over  to 
Loch  Roag,  and  the  first  glimpse  of  the  rocky  bays,  and 
clear  water,  and  white  sand  about  Borva  and  Borvabost  ! 
And  Sheila  would  once  more — having  cast  aside  this  cum- 
brous attire  that  she  had  to  change  so  often,  and  having 
got  out  that  neat  and  simple  costume,  that  was  so  good  for 
walking,  or  driving,  or  sailing — be  proud  to  wait  upon  her 
guests,  and  help  Mairi  in  her  household  ways,  and  have  a 
pretty  table  ready  for  the  gentlemen  when  they  returned 
from  the  shooting. 

Her  husband  came  up  the  hotel  stairs  and  entered  the 
room.  She  rose  to  meet  him,  with  the  open  letter  in  her 
hand. 

"  Sheila,"  he  said  (and  the  light  slowly  died  away  from 
her  face),  "  I  have  something  to  ask  of  you." 

She  knew  by  the  sound  of  his  voice  that  she  had  nothing 
to  hope  :  it  was  not  the  first  time  she  had  been  disappointed, 
and  yet  this  time  it  seemed  especially  bitter  somehow.  The 
awakening  from  these  illusions  was  sudden. 

She  did  not  answer,  so  he  said,  in  the  same  measured 
voice — 

"  I  have  to  ask  that  you  will  have  henceforth  no  commu- 
nication with  Mr.  Ingram  ;  I  do  not  wish  him  to  come  to 
the  house." 

She  stood  for  a  moment  apparently  not  understanding 
the  meaning  of  what  he  said.  Then,  when  the  full  force 
of  this  decision  and  request  came  upon  her,  a  quick  colour 
sprang  to  her  face — the  cause  of  which,  if  it  had  been  re- 
vealed to  him  in  words,  would  have  considerably  astonished 


262  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

her  husband.  But  the  moment  of  doubt,  of  surprise,  of 
inward  indignation,  was  soon  over.  She  cast  down  her  eyes, 
and  said  meekly — 

"  Very  well,  dear." 

It  was  now  his  turn  to  be  astonished,  and  mortified  as 
well.  He  could  not  have  believed  it  possible  that  she  should 
so  calmly  acquiesce  in  the  dismissal  of  one  of  her  dearest 
friends.  He  had  expected  a  more  or  less  angry  protest,  if 
not  a  distinct  refusal,  which  would  have  given  him  an 
opportunity  for  displaying  the  injuries  he  conceived  himself 
to  have  suffered  at  their  hands.  Why  had  she  not  come  to 
himself  ?  This  man  Ingram  was  presuming  on  his  ancient 
friendship,  and  on  the  part  he  had  taken  in  forwarding 
the  marriage  up  in  Borva.  He  had  always,  moreover,  been 
somewhat  too  much  of  the  schoolmaster — with  his  severe 
judgments,  his  sententious  fashion  of  criticising  and  warning 
people,  and  his  readiness  to  prove  the  whole  world  wrong  in 
order  to  show  himself  to  be  right.  All  these  and  many  other 
things  Lavender  meant  to  say  to  Sheila,  so  soon  as  she  had 
protested  against  his  forbidding  Ingram  to  come  any  more 
to  the  house.  But  there  was  no  protest.  Sheila  did  not 
even  seem  surprised.  She  went  back  to  her  seat  by  the 
window  ;  folded  up  Duncan's  letter,  and  put  it  in  her  pocket ; 
and  then  she  turned  to  look  at  the  sea. 

Lavender  regarded  her  for  a  moment,  apparently  doubt- 
ing whether  he  should  himself  prosecute  the  subject  ;  then 
he  turned  and  left  the  room. 

Sheila  did  not  cry  or  otherwise  seek  to  compassionate  and 
console  herself.  Her  husband  had  told  her  to  do  a  certain 
thing ;  and  she  would  do  it.  Perhaps  she  had  been  im- 
prudent in  having  confided  in  Mr.  Ingram  ;  and,  if  so,  it 
was  right  that  she  should  be  punished.  But  the  regret  and 
pain  that  lay  deep  in  her  heart  was  that  Ingram  should 
have  suffered  through  her,  and  that  she  had  no  opportunity 
of  telling  him  that,  though  they  might  not  see  each  other, 
she  would  never  forget  her  friendship  for  him,  or  cease  to 
be  grateful  to  him  for  his  unceasing  and  generous  kindness 
to  her. 

Next  morning  Lavender  was  summoned  to  London  by  a 
telegram  which  announced  that  his  aunt  was  seriously  ill. 
He  and  Sheila  got  ready  at  once,  left  by  a  forenoon  train, 


EXCHANGES  263 

had  some  brief  luncheon  at  home,  and  then  went  down  to 
see  the  old  lady  in  Kensington  Gore.  During  their  journey, 
Lavender  had  been  rather  more  courteous  and  kindly  to- 
wards Sheila  than  was  his  wont.  "Was  he  pleased  that  she 
had  so  readily  obeyed  him  in  this  matter  of  giving  up  about 
the  only  friend  she  had  in  London  ?  Or  was  he  moved  by 
some  visitation  of  compunction  ?  Sheila  tried  to  show  that 
she  was  grateful  for  his  kindness  ;  but  there  was  that 
between  them  which  could  not  be  removed  by  chance 
phrases  or  attentions.  Mrs.  Lavender  was  in  her  own  room. 
Paterson  brought  word  that  she  wanted  to  see  Sheila  first  and 
alone  ;  so  Lavender  sat  down  in  the  gloomy  drawing-room 
by  the  window,  and  watched  the  people  riding  and  driving 
by,  and  the  sunshine  on  the  dusty  green  trees  in  the  Park. 
*  "  Is  Frank  Lavender  below  ?  "  said  the  thin  old  woman, 
who  was  propped  up  in  bed,  with  some  scarlet  garment 
around  her  that  made  her  resemble  more  than  ever  the 
cockatoo  of  which  Sheila  had  thought  on  first  seeing  her. 

"  Yes,"  said  Sheila. 

"  I  want  to  see  you  alone — I  can't  bear  him  dawdling 
about  a  room,  and  staring  at  things,  and  saying  nothing. 
Does  he  speak  to  you  ?  " 

Sheila  did  not  wish  to  enter  into  any  controversy  about 
the  habits  of  her  husband,  so  she  said  : 

"  I  hope  you  will  see  him  before  he  goes,  Mrs.  Lavender. 
He  is  very  anxious  to  know  how  you  are  ;  and  I  am  glad  to 
find  you  looking  so  well.  You  do  not  look  like  an  •  invalid 
at  all." 

"  Oh,  I'm  not  going  to  die  yet,"  said  the  little  dried  old 
woman,  with  the  harsh  voice,  the  cold  eyes,  and  the  tightly 
twisted  grey  hair.  "  I  hope  you  didn't  come  to  read  the 
Bible  to  me — you  wouldn't  find  one  about  in  any  case,  I 
should  think.  If  you  like  to  sit  down  and  read  the  sayings 
of  the  Emperor  Marcus  Antoninus,  I  should  enjoy  that ; 
but  I  suppose  you  are  too  busy  thinking  what  dress  you'll 
wear  at  my  funeral." 

"  Indeed  I  was  thinking  of  no  such  thing,"  said  Sheila, 
indignantly,  but  feeling  all  the  same  that  the  hard,  glittering, 
expressionless  eyes  were  watching  her. 

"  Do  you  suppose  I  believe  you  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Lavender. 
"  Bah  !  I  hope  I  am  able  to  recognize  the  facts  of  life. 


264  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

If  you  were  to  die  this  afternoon,  I  should  get  a  black  silk 
trimmed  with  crape  the  moment  I  got  on  my  feet  again,  and 
go  to  your  funeral  in  the  ordinary  way.  I  hope  you  will 
pay  me  the  same  respect.  Do  you  think  I  am  afraid  to 
speak  of  these  things  ?  " 

"  "Why  should  you  speak  of  them  ?  "  said  Sheila,  despair- 
ingly. 

"  Because  it  does  you  good  to  contemplate  the  worst  that 
can  befall  you  ;  and  if  it  does  not  happen,  you  may  rejoice. 
And  it  will  happen.  I  know  that  I  shall  be  lying  in  this 
bed,  with  a  half-a-dozen  of  you  round  about  trying  to  cry, 
and  wondering  which  will  have  the  courage  to  turn  and  go 
out  of  the  room  first.  Then  there  will  be  the  funeral  day, 
and  Paterson  will  be  careful  about  the  blinds,  and  go  round 
the  house  on  her  tip-toes,  as  if  I  were  likely  to  hear  !  Then 
there  will  be  a  pretty  service  up  in  the  cemetery  ;  and  a  man 
who  never  saw  me  will  speak  of  his  dear  sister  departed  ; 
and  then  you'll  all  go  home  and  have  your  dinner.  Am  I 
afraid  of  it  ? " 

"  Why  should  you  talk  like  that  ?  "  said  Sheila,  piteously. 
"  You  are  not  going  to  die.  You  distress  yourself  and  others 
by  thinking  of  these  horrible  things — • — " 

"My  dear  child,  there  is  nothing  horrible  in  nature. 
Everything  is  part  of  the  universal  system  which  you  should 
recognize  and  accept.  If  you  had  trained  yourself  now,  by 
the  study  of  philosophical  works,  to  know  how  helpless  you 
are  to  alter  the  facts  of  life,  and  how  it  is  the  best  wisdom 
to  be  prepared  for  the  worst,  you  would  find  nothing 
horrible  in  thinking  of  your  own  funeral.  You  are  not 
looking  well." 

Sheila  was  startled  by  the  suddenness  of  the  announce- 
ment. 

"  Perhaps  I  am  a  little  tired  with  the  travelling  we  have 
done  to-day." 

"  Is  Frank  Lavender  kind  to  you  ?  " 

What  was  she  to  say,  with  those  two  hard  eyes  scanning 
her  face  ? 

"  It  is  too  soon  to  expect  him  to  be  anything  else,"  she 
Said,  with  an  effort  at  a  smile. 

"  Ah  !  So  you  are  beginning  to  talk  in  that  way  ?  I 
thought  you  were  full  of  sentimental  notions  of  life  when 


265 

you  came  to  London.     It  is  not  a  good  place  for  nurturing 
such  things." 

"  It  is  not,"  said  Sheila,  surprised  into  a  sigh. 

"  Come  nearer.  Don't  be  afraid  I  shall  bite  you.  I  am 
not  so  ferocious  as  I  look." 

Sheila  rose  and  went  closer  to  the  bedside  ;  and  the  old 
woman  stretched  out  a  lean  and  withered  hand  to  her. 

"  If  I  thought  that  that  silly  fellow  wasn't  behaving  well 
to  you " 

"  I  will  not  listen  to  you,"  said  Sheila,  suddenly  with- 
drawing her  hand,  while  a  quick  colour  leapt  to  her  face  ; 
"  I  will  not  listen  to  you  if  you  speak  of  my  husband  in  that 
way." 

"  I  will  speak  of  him  any  way  you  like.  Don't  get  into  a 
rage.  I  have  known  Frank  Lavender  a  good  deal  longer 
than  you  have.  AYhat  I  was  going  to  say  is  this — that  if  I 
thought  that  he  was  not  behaving  well  to  you,  I  would  play 
him  a  trick.  I  would  leave  my  money,  which  is  all  he 
has  got  to  live  on,  to  you  ;  and  when  I  died  he  would  find 
himself  dependent  on  you  for  every  farthing  he  wanted  to 
spend." 

And  the  old  woman  laughed — with  very  little  of  the  weak- 
ness of  an  invalid  in  the  look  of  her  face.  But  Sheila,  when 
she  had  mastered  her  surprise,  and  resolved  not  to  be  angry, 
said  calmly — 

"  Whatever  I  have,  whatever  I  might  have,  that  belongs 
to  my  husband,  not  to  me." 

"  Now  you  speak  like  a  sensible  girl,"  said  Mrs.  Lavender. 
"  That  is  the  misfortune  of  a  wife,  that  she  cannot  keep  her 
own  money  to  herself.  But  there  are  means  by  which  the 
law  may  be  defeated,  my  dear.  I  have  been  thinking  it 
over  ;  I  have  been  speaking  of  it  to  Mr.  Ingram ;  for  I 
have  suspected  for  some  time  that  my  nephew,  Mr.  Frank, 
was  not  behaving  himself." 

"  Mrs.  Lavender,"  said  Sheila,  with  a  face  too  proud  and 
indignant  for  tears,  "  you  do  not  understand  me.  .No  one 
has  the  right  to  imagine  anything  against  my  husband,  and 
to  seek  to  punish  him  through  me.  And  when  I  said  that 
everything  that  I  have  belongs  to  him,  I  was  not  thinking 
of  the  law — no — but  only  this  :  that  everything  that  I  have, 
or  might  have,  would  belong  to  him,  as  I  myself  belong  to 


266  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

him,  of  my  own  free  will  and  gift ;  and  I  would  have  no 
money,  or  anything  else,  that  was  not  entirely  his." 

"  Yon  are  a  fool." 

"  Perhaps,"  said  Sheila,  struggling  to  repress  her  teare. 

"  What  if  I  were  to  leave  every  farthing  of  my  property 
to  a  hospital  ?  Where  would  Frank  Lavender  be  then  ?  " 

"  He  could  earn  his  own  living  without  any  such  help," 
said  Sheila  proudly :  for  she  had  never  yet  given  up  the 
hope  that  her  husband  would  fulfil  the  fair  promise  of  an 
earlier  time,  and  win  great  renown  for  himself  in  striving  to 
please  her,  as  he  had  many  a  time  vowed  he  would  do. 

"  He  has  taken  great  care  to  conceal  his  powers  in  that 
way,"  said  the  old  woman  with  a  sneer. 

"  And  if  he  has,  whose  fault  is  it  ?  "  the  girl  said,  warmly. 
"  Who  has  kept  him  in  idleness  but  yourself  ?  And  now 
you  blame  him  for  it.  I  wish  he  had  never  had  any  of  your 
money — I  wish  he  were  never  to  have  any  more  of  it — 

And  then  Sheila  stopped,  with  a  terrible  dread  falling  over 
her.  What  had  she  not  said  ?  The  pride  of  her  race  had 
carried  her  so  far,  and  she  had  given  expression  to  all  the 
tumult  of  her  heart ;  but  had  she  not  betrayed  her  duty 
as  a  wife,  and  grievously  compromised  the  interests  of  her 
husband  ?  And  yet  the  indignation  in  her  bosom  was  too 
strong  to  admit  of  her  retracting  those  fatal  phrases,  and 
begging  forgiveness.  She  stood  for  a  moment,  irresolute  ; 
and  she  knew  that  the  invalid  was  regarding  her  curiously, 
as  though  she  were  some  wild  animal,  and  not  an  ordinary 
resident  in  Bayswater. 

"  You  are  a  little  mad,  but  you  are  a  good  girl,  and  I  want 
to  be  friends  with  you.  You  have  in  you  the  spirit  of  a  dozen 
Frank  Lavenders." 

"  You  will  never  make  friends  with  me  by  speaking  ill  of 
my  husband,"  said  Sheila,  with  the  same  proud  look. 

"  Not  when  he  ill-uses  you  ?  " 

"  He  does  not  ill-use  me.  What  has  Mr.  Ingram  been 
saying  to  you  ?  " 

The  sudden  question  would  certainly  have  brought  about 
a  disclosure,  if  any  were  to  have  been  made ;  but  Mrs. 
Lavender  assured  Sheila  that  Mr.  Ingram  had  told  her 
nothing,  that  she  had  been  forming  her  own  conclusions,  and 
that  she  still  doubted  that  they  were  right. 


EXCHANGES  267 

"  Now  sit  down  and  read  to  me.  You  will  find  Marcus 
Aurelius  on  the  top  of  those  books." 

•'  Frank  is  in  the  drawing-room,"  observed  Sheila,  mildly. 
"  He  can  wait,"  said  the  old  woman,  sharply. 
"  Yes,  but  I  cannot  keep  him  waiting,"  Sheila  said,  with 
a  smile  which  did  not  conceal  her  very  definite  purpose. 

"  Then  ring,  and  bid  him  come  up.  You  will  soon  get  rid 
of  these  absurd  sentiments." 

Sheila  rang  the  bell,  and  sent  Mrs.  Paterson  down  for 
Lavender ;  but  she  did  not  betake  herself  to  Marcus 
Aurelius.  She  waited  a  few  minutes,  and  then  her  husband 
made  his  appearance,  whereupon  she  sat  down,  and  left  to 
him  the  agreeable  duty  of  talking  with  this  toothless  old 
heathen  about  funerals  and  lingering  death. 

"  Well,  Aunt  Lavender,  I  am  sorry  to  hear  you  have  been 
ill,  but  I  suppose  you  are  getting  all  right  again,  to  judge  by 
your  looks." 

"  I  am  not  nearly  as  ill  as  you  expected." 
"  I  wonder  you  did  not  say  '  hoped '  !  "  remarked  Laven- 
der, carelessly.     "You  are  always  attributing  the   most 
charitable  feelings  to  your  fellow-creatures." 

"  Frank  Lavender,"  said  the  old  lady,  who  was  a  little 
pleased  by  this  bit  of  flattery,  "  if  you  came  here  to  make 
yourself  impertinent  and  disagreeable,  you  can  go  down  stairs 
a  gain.  Y'our  wife  and  I  get  on  very  well  without  you." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  he  said  ;  "  I  suppose  you  have 
been  telling  her  what  is  the  matter  with  you." 

"  I  have  not.  I  don't  know.  I  have  had  a  pain  in  the 
head,  and  two  fits,  and  I  dare  say  the  next  will  carry  me  off. 
The  doctors  won't  tell  me  anything  about  it,  so  I  suppose  it 

is  serious " 

"  Nonsense  !  "  cried  Lavender.     "  Serious  !     To  look  at 

you,  one  would  say  you  never  had  been  ill  in  your  life."      ; 

"  Don't  tell  stories,  Frank.     I  know  I  look  like  a  corpse  ; 

but  I  don't  mind  it,  for  I  avoid  the  looking-glass,  and  keep  the 

spectacle  for  my  friends.     I  expect  the  next  fit  will  kill  me." 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  it  is,  Aunt  Lavender  ;  if  you  would 

only  get  up  and  come  with  us  for  a  drive  in  the  Park,  you 

would  find  there  was  nothing  of  an  invalid  about  you  ;  and  we 

would  take  you  home  to  a  quiet  dinner  at  Notting  Hill,  and 

Sheila  would  sing  to  you  all  the  evening,  and  to-morrow  you 


268  .    A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

would  receive  the  doctors  in  state  in  your  drawing-room,  and 
tell  them  you  were  going  for  a  month  to  Malvern." 

"  Your  husband  has  a  fine  imagination,  my  dear,"  said 
Mrs.  Lavender  to  Sheila.  "  It  is  a  pity  he  puts  it  to  no  use. 
Now  I  shall  let  both  of  you  go.  Three  breathing  in  this  room 
are  too  many  for  the  cubic  feet  of  air  it  contains.  Frank, 
bring  over  those  scales  and  put  them  on  the  table  :  and 
send  Paterson  to  me  as  you  go  out." 

And  so  they  went  down  stairs,  and  out  of  the  house.  Just 
as  they  stood  on  the  steps,  looking  for  a  hansom,  a  young 
lad  came  forward,  and  shook  hands  with  Lavender,  glancing 
rather  nervously  at  Sheila. 

"  Well,  Mosenberg,"  said  Lavender,  "  you've  come  back 
from  Leipsic  at  last.  We  got  your  card  when  we  came  home 
this  morning  from  Brighton.  Let  me  introduce  you  to  my 
wife." 

The  boy  looked  at  the  beautiful  face  before  him  with 
something  of  distant  wonder  and  reverence  in  his  regard. 
Sheila  had  heard  of  the  lad  before — of  the  Mendelssohn 
that  was  to  be — and  liked  his  appearance  at  first  sight.  He 
was  a  rather  handsome  boy  of  fourteen  or  fifteen,  of  the  fair 
Jew  type,  with  large,  dark,  expressive  eyes,  and  long,  wavy, 
light  brown  hair.  He  spoke  English  fluently  and  well ;  his 
slight  German  accent  was,  indeed,  scarcely  so  distinct  as 
Sheila's  Highland  one  ;  the  chief  peculiarity  of  his  speaking 
being  a  preference  for  short  sentences,  as  if  he  were  afraid 
to  venture  upon  elaborate  English.  He  had  not  addressed  a 
dozen  sentences  to  Sheila  before  she  had  begun  to  have  a 
liking  for  the  lad  ;  perhaps  on  account  of  his  soft  and 
musical  voice  ;  perhaps  on  account  of  the  respectful  and 
almost  wondering  admiration  that  dwelt  in  his  eyes.  He 
spoke  to  her  as  if  she  were  some  saint,  who  had  but  to  smile 
to  charm  and  bewilder  the  humble  worshipper  at  her  shrine. 

"  I  was  intending  to  call  upon  Mrs.  Lavender,  Madame," 
he  said.  "  I  heard  that  she  was  ill.  Perhaps  you  can  tell  me 
if  she  is  better." 

"  She  seems  to  be  very  well  to-day,  and  in  very  good 
spirits,"  Sheila  answered. 

"  Then  I  will  not  go  in.  Did  you  propose  to  take  a  walk 
in  the  Park,  Madame  ?  " 

Lavender  inwardly  laughed  at  the  magnificent  audacity  of 


EXCHANGES  269 

the  lad ;  and  seeing  that  Sheila  hesitated,  humoured  him  by 
saying — 

"  "Well,  we  were  thinking  of  calling  on  one  or  two  people 
before  going  home  to  dinner.  But  I  haven't  seen  you  for  a 
long  time,  Mosenberg  ;  and  I  want  you  to  tell  me  how  you 
succeeded  at  the  Conservatoire.  If  you  like  to  walk  with 
us  for  a  bit,  we  can  give  you  something  to  eat  at  seven." 

"  That  would  be  very  pleasant  for  me,"  said  the  boy,  blush- 
ing somewhat,  "  if  it  does  not  incommode  you,  Madame." 

"  Oh,  no — I  hope  you  will  come,"  said  Sheila,  most 
heartily,  and  so  they  set  out  for  a  walk  through  Kensington 
Gardens  northward. 

Precious  little  did  Lavender  learn  about  Leipsic  during 
that  walk.  The  boy  devoted  himself  wholly  to  Sheila.  He 
had  heard  frequently  of  her,  and  he  knew  of  her  coming 
from  the  wild  and  romantic  Hebrides  ;  and  he  began  to  tell 
her  of  all  the  experiments  that  composers  had  made  in  repre- 
senting the  sound  of  seas,  and  storms,  and  winds  howling 
through  caverns  washed  by  the  waves.  Lavender  liked 
music  well  enough,  and  could  himself  play  and  sing  ;  but 
this  enthusiasm  rather  bored  him.  He  wanted  to  know  if 
the  yellow  wine  was  still  as  cool  and  clear  as  ever  down  in 
the  twilight  of  Auerbach's  cellar,  what  burlesques  had  lately 
been  played  at  the  theatre,  and  whether  such  and  such  a 
beer-garden  was  still  to  the  fore  ;  whereas  he  heard  only 
analyses  of  overtures,  and  descriptions  of  the  uses  of  par- 
ticular musical  instruments,  and  a  wild  rhapsody  about 
moonlit  seas,  the  sweetness  of  French  horns,  the  King  of 
Thule,  and  a  dozen  other  matters. 

"  Mosenberg,"  he  said,  "  before  you  go  calling  on  people, 
you  ought  to  visit  an  English  tailor.  People  will  think  you 
belong  to  a  German  band." 

"  I  have  been  to  a  tailor,"  said  the  lad,  with  a  frank 
laugh.  "  My  parents,  Madame,  wish  me  to  be  quite  English 
— that  is  why  I  am  sent  to  live  in  London,  while  they  are  in 
Frankfort.  I  stay  with  some  good  friends  of  mine,  who  are 
very  musical,  and  they  are  not  annoyed  by  my  practising,  as 
other  people  would  be." 

"  I  hope  you  will  sing  something  to  us  this  evening," 
said  Sheila. 

"  I  will  sing  and  play  for  you  all  the  evening,"  he  said 


270  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

lightly,  "  until  you  are  tired.  But  you  must  tell  me  when 
you  are  tired ;  for  who  can  tell  how  much  music  will  be 
enough  ?  Sometimes  two  or  three  songs  are  more  than 
enough  to  make  people  wish  you  away." 

"  You  need  have  no  fear  of  tiring  me,"  said  Sheila.  "  But 
when  you  are  tired,  I  will  sing  for  you." 

"  Yes,  of  course,  you  sing,  Madame,"  he  said,  casting  down 
his  eyes  ;  "  I  knew  that  when  I  saw  you." 

Sheila  had  got  a  sweetheart ;  and  Lavender  saw  it,  and 
smiled  good-naturedly.  The  awe  and  reverence  with  which 
this  lad  regarded  the  beautiful  woman  beside  him  were  some- 
thing new  and  odd  in  Kensington  Gardens.  Yet  it  was  the 
way  of  those  boys.  He  had  himself  had  his  imaginative  fits 
of  worship,  in  which  some  very  ordinary  young  woman,  who 
ate  a  good  breakfast,  and  spent  an  hour  and  a  half  in 
arranging  her  hair  before  going  out,  was  regarded  as  some 
beautiful  goddess  fresh  risen  from  the  sea,  or  descended  from 
the  clouds.  Young  Mosenberg  was  just  at  the  proper  age 
for  those  foolish  dreams.  He  would  sing  songs  to  Sheila, 
and  reveal  to  her  that  way  a  passion  of  which  he  dare  not 
otherwise  speak.  He  would  compose  pieces  of  music  for 
her,  and  dedicate  them  to  her,  and  spend  half  his  quarterly 
money  in  having  them  printed.  He  would  grow  to  consider 
him,  Lavender,  a  heartless  brute,  and  cherish  dark  notions 
of  poisoning  him,  but  for  the  pain  it  might  cause  to  her. 

"I  don't  remember  whether  you  smoke,  Mosenberg," 
Lavender  said,  after  dinner 

"  Yes — a  cigarette  sometimes,"  said  the  lad  ;  "  but  if  Mrs. 
Lavender  is  going  away,  perhaps  she  will  let  me  go  into 
the  drawing-room  with  her.  There  is  that  sonata  of  Muzio 
Clementi,  Madame,  which  I  will  try  to  remember  for  you, 
if  you  please " 

"  All  right,"  said  Lavender  ;  "  you'll  find  me  in  the  next 
room  on  the  left  when  you  get  tired  of  your  music  and  want 
a  cigar.  I  think  you  used  to  beat  me  at  chess,  didn't  you  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know.     "We  will  try  once  more  to-night." 

Then  Sheila  and  he  went  into  the  drawing-room  by  them- 
selves ;  and  while  she  took  a  seat  near  the  empty  fireplace,  he 
opened  the  piano  at  once,  and  sat  down.  He  turned  up  his 
cuffs.  He  took  a  look  at  the  pedals.  He  threw  back  his 
head,  shaking  his  long  brown  hair.  And  then,  with  a  crash 


EXCHANGES  271 

like  thunder,  his  two  hands  struck  the  keys.  He  had  for- 
gotten all  about  the  sonata — it  was  a  .fantasia  of  his  own, 
based  on  the  airs  in  "  Der  Freischiitz,"  that  he  played  ;  and, 
as  he  played,  Sheila's  poor  little  piano  suffered  somewhat. 
Xever  before  had  it  been  so  battered  about ;  and  she  wished 
the  small  chamber  were  a  great  hall,  to  temper  the  volumi- 
nous noise  of  this  opening  passage.  But  presently  the  music 
softened.  The  white  lithe  fingers  ran  lightly  over  the  keys, 
so  that  the  notes  seemed  to  ripple  out  like  the  prattling  of  a 
stream  ;  and  then  again  some  stately  and  majestic  air,  or 
some  joyous  burst  of  song,  would  break  upon  this  light  ac- 
companiment, and  lead  up  to  another  roar  and  rumble  of 
noise.  It  was  a  very  fine  performance,  doubtless  ;  but  what 
Sheila  remarked  most  was  the  enthusiasm  of  the  lad.  She 
was  to  see  more  of  that. 

"  Now,"  he  said, "  that  is  nothing.  It  is  to  get  one's  fingers 
accustomed  to  the  keys — -you  play  anything  that  is  loud  and 
rapid.  But  if  you  please,  Madame,  shall  I  sing  you  something  ?  " 

"  Yes,  do,"  said  Sheila. 

"  I  will  sing  for  you  a  little  German  song,  which  I  believe 
Jenny  Lind  used  to  sing,  but  I  never  heard  her  sing.  You 
know  German  ? " 

"  Very  little  indeed." 

"  This  is  only  the  cry  of  some  one,  who  is  far  away,  about 
his  sweetheart.  It  is  very  simple,  both  in  the  words  and  the 
music." 

And  he  began  to  sing,  in  a  voice  so  rich,  so  tender  and 
expressive,  that  Sheila  sat  amazed  and  bewildered  to  hear 
him.  Where  had  this  boy  caught  such  a  trick  of  passion,  or 
was  it  really  a  trick  that  threw  into  his  voice  all  the  pathos 
of  a  strong  man's  love  and  grief  ?  He  had  a  powerful  bari- 
tone, of  unusual  compass,  and  rare  sweetness  ;  but  it  was 
not  the  finely-trained  art  of  hig  singing,  it  was  the  passionate 
abandonment  of  it,  that  thrilled  Sheila,  and  indeed  brought 
tears  to  her  eyes.  How  had  this  mere  lad  learned  all  the 
yearning  and  despair  of  love,  that  he  sang — • 

"  Dir  bebt  die  Brust 

Dir  schlagt  dies  Herz 

Du  meinc  Lust  I 

O  du,  mein  Schmerz ! 

Xur  an  den  Winden,  den  Sternen  der  Hiih 
Mugs  ich  verkiinden  mein  stisses  Weh  ! " 


272  4  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

as  though  his  heart  were  breaking  ?  When  he  had  finished, 
he  paused  for  a  moment  or  two  before  leaving  the  piano ; 
and  then  he  came  over  to  where  Sheila  sat.  She  fancied 
there  was  a  strange  look  on  his  face,  as  of  one  who  had  been 
really  experiencing  the  wild  emotions  of  which  he  sang  ;  but 
he  said,  in  his  ordinary  careful  way  of  speaking — 

"  Madame,  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  translate  the  words  for  you 
into  English.  They  are  too  simple  ;  and  they  have,  what  is 
common  in  many  German  songs,  a  mingling  of  the  pleasure 
and  the  sadness  of  being  in  love,  that  would  not  read 
natural  perhaps  in  English.  When  he  says  to  her  that  she 
is  his  greatest  delight,  and  also  his  greatest  grief,  it  is  quite 
right  in  the  German- — but  not  in  the  English." 

"  But  where  have  you  learned  all  these  things  ?  "  she  said 
to  him,  talking  to  him  as  if  he  were  a  mere  child,  and  look- 
ing without  fear  into  his  handsome  boyish  face  and  fine  eyes. 
"•Sit  down  and  tell  me.  That  is  the  song  of  some  one  whose 
sweetheart  is  far  away,  you  said.  But  you  sang  it  as  if  you 
yourself  had  some  sweetheart  far  away." 

"  So  I  have,  Madame,"  he  said,  seriously  ;  "  when  I  sing 
the  song,  I  think  of  her  then,  so  that  I  almost  cry  for  her." 

"  And  who  is  she  ?  "  said  Sheila  gently.  "  Is  she  very  far 
away  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  the  lad,  absently.  "  I  do  not  know 
who  she  is.  Sometimes  I  think  she  is  a  beautiful  woman 
away  at  St.  Petersburg,  singing  in  the  opera-house  there. 
Or  I  think  she  has  sailed  away  in  a  ship  from  me — 

"  But  do  you  not  sing  about  any  particular  person  ?  "  said 
Sheila,  with  an  innocent  wonder  appearing  in  her  eyes. 

"  Oh  no,  not  at  all,"  said  the  boy ;  and  then  he  added, 
with  some  suddenness,  "  Do  you  think,  Madame,  any  fine 
songs  like  that,  or  any  fine  words,  that  go  to  the  heart  of 
people,  are  written  about  any  one  person  ?  Oh,  no  !  The 
man  has  a  great  desire  in  him  to  say  something  beautiful, 
or  sad,  and  he  says  it — not  to  one  person,  but  to  all  the 
world  ;  and  all  the  world  takes  it  from  him  as  a  gift.  Some- 
times, yes,  he  will  think  of  one  woman,  or  he  will  dedicate 
the  music  to  her,  or  he  will  compose  it  for  her  wedding,  but 
the  feeling  in  his  heart  is  greater  than  any  that  he  has  for 
her.  Can  you  believe,  Madame,  that  Mendelssohn  wrote 
Hochzeitm— the  Wedding  March — for  any  one  wedding  ? 


EXCHANGES  273 

Xo.  It  was  all  the  marriage-joy  of  all  the  world  he  put  into 
his  music,  and  every  one  knows  that.  And  you  hear  it  at 
this  wedding,  at  that  wedding,  but  you  know  it  belongs  to 
something  far  away  and  more  beautiful  than  the  marriage  of 
any  one  bride  with  her  sweetheart.  And  if  you  will  pardon 
me,  Madame,  for  speaking  about  myself ;  it  is  about  some 
one  I  never  knew,  who  is  far  more  beautiful  and  precious  to 
me  than  any  one  I  ever  knew,  that  I  try  to  think  when  I 
sing  these  sad  songs,  and  then  I  think  of  her  far  away,  and 
not  likely  ever  to  see  me  again." 

"  But  some  day  you  will  find  that  you  have  met  her  in  real 
life,'-'  Sheila  said.  "  And  you  will  find  her  far  more  beauti- 
ful and  kind  to  you  than  anything  you  dreamed  about ;  and 
you  will  try  to  write  your  best  music  to  give  to  her.  And 
then,  if  you  should  be  unhappy,  you  will  find  how  much 
worse  is  the  real  unhappiness  about  one  you  love  than  the 
sentiment  of  a  song  you  can  lay  aside  at  any  moment." 

The  lad  looked  at  her. 

"  What  can  you  know  about  unhappiness,  Madame  ?  "  he 
said,  with  a  frank  and  gentle  simplicity  that  she  liked. 

"  I  ?  "  said  Sheila.  "  When  people  get  married  and  begin 
to  experience  the  cares  of  the  world,  they  must  expect  to  be 
unhappy  sometimes." 

"  But  not  you,"  he  said,  with  some  touch  of  protest  in  his 
voice,  as  if  it  were  impossible  the  world  should  deal  harshly 
with  so  young,  and  beautiful,  and  tender  a  creature.  "  You 
can  have  nothing  but  enjoyment  around  you.  Every  one 
must  try  to  please  you.  You  need  only  condescend  to  speak 
to  people,  and  they  are  grateful  to  you  for  a  great  favour. 
Perhaps,  Madame,  you  think  I  am  impertinent " 

He  stopped  and  blushed  ;  while  Sheila  herself,  with  a  little 
touch  of  colour,  answered  him,  that  she  hoped  he  would 
always  speak  to  her  quite  frankly,  and  then  suggested  that 
he  might  sing  once  more  for  her. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said,  as  he  sat  down  at  the  piano  ;  "  this 
is  not  any  more  a  sad  song.  It  is  about  a  young  lady  who 
will  not  let  her  sweetheart  kiss  her,  except  on  conditions. 
You  shall  hear  the  conditions,  and  what  he  says." 

Sheila  began  to  wonder  whether  this  innocent-eyed  lad  had 
been  imposing  on  her.  The  song  was  acted  as  well  as  sung. 
It  consisted  chiefly  of  a  dialogue  between  the  two  lovers : 


274  A  PRINCESS  OF 

and  the  boy,  with  a  wonderful  ease  and  grace  and  skill, 
mimicked  the  shy  coquetries  of  the  girl,  her  fits  of  petulance 
and  dictation,  and  the  pathetic  remonstrances  of  her  com- 
panion, his  humble  entreaties,  and  his  final  sullenness,  which 
is  only  conquered  by  her  sudden  and  ample  consent.  "  What 
a  rare  faculty  of  artistic  representation  this  precocious  boy 
must  have,"  she  thought,  "if  he  really  exhibits  all  those 
moods,  and  whims,  and  tricks  of  manner  without  having 
himself  been  in  the  position  of  the  despairing  and  imploring 
lover ! " 

"  You  were  not  thinking  of  the  beautiful  lady  in  St.  Peters- 
burg when  you  were  singing  now,"  Sheila  said,  on  his  coming 
back  to  her. 

"  Oh  no,"  he  said  carelessly ;  "  that  is  nothing.  You 
have  not  to  imagine  anything.  These  people,  you  see  them 
on  every  stage,  in  the  comedies  and  farces." 

"  But  that  might  happen  in  actual  life,"  said  Sheila,  still 
not  quite  sure  about  him.  "  Do  you  know  that  many  people 
Avould  think  you  must  have  yourself  been  teased  in  that  way, 
or  you  could  not  imitate  it  so  naturally  ?  " 

"  I !  Oh  no,  Madame,"  he  said  seriously,  "  I  should  not 
act  that  way,  if  I  were  in  love  with  a  woman.  If  I  found 
her  a  comedy-actress,  liking  to  make  her  amusement  out  of 
our  relations,  I  should  say  to  her, '  Good  evening,  Mademoiselle ; 
toe  have  loth  made  a  little  mistake.'  " 

"  But  you  might  be  so  much  in  love  with  her  that  you 
could  not  leave  her  without  being  very  miserable." 

"  I  might  be  very  much  in  love  with  her,  yes  ;  but  I  would 
rather  go  away,  and  be  miserable,  than  be  humiliated  by  such 
a  girl.  Why  do  you  smile,  Madame  ?  Do  you  think  I  am 
vain,  or  that  I  am  too  young  to  know  anything  about  that  ? 
Perhaps  both  are  true  ;  but  one  cannot  help  thinking." 

"  Well,"  said  Sheila,  with  a  grandly  maternal  air  of  sym- 
pathy and  interest,  "  you  must  always  remember  this — that 
you  have  something  more  important  to  attend  to  than  merely 
looking  out  for  a  beautiful  sweetheait.  That  is  the  fancy 
of  a  foolish  girl.  You  have  your  profession  ;  and  you  must 
become  great  and  famous  in  that ;  and  then,  some  day,  when 
you  meet  this  beautiful  woman,  and  ask  her  to  be  your  wife, 
she  Will  be  bound  to  do  that,  and  you  will  confer  honour  on 
her  as  well  as  secure  happiness  to  yourself.  Now,  if  you 


EXCHANGES  275 

were  to  fall  in  love  with  some  coquettish  girl  like  her  you 
were  singing  about,  you  would  have  no  ambition  to  become 
famous ;  you  would  lose  all  interest  in  everything  except 
her ;  and  she  would  be  able  to  make  you  miserable  by  a 
single  word.  When  you  have  made  a  name  for  yourself,  and 
got  a  good  many  more  years,  you  will  be  better  able  to  bear 
anything  that  happens  to  you  in  your  love  or  in  your  mar- 
riage." 

"  You  are  very  kind  to  take  so  much  trouble,"  said  young 
Mosenberg,  looking  up  with  big,  grateful  eyes.  "  Perhaps, 
Madame,  if  you  are  not  very  busy,  during  the  day,  you  will 
let  me  call  in  sometimes  ;  and  if  there  is  no  one  here,  I  will 
tell  you  about  what  I  am  doing,  and  play  for  you,  or  sing 
for  you,  if  you  please." 

"  In  the  afternoons  I  am  always  free,"  she  said. 

"  Do  you  never  go  out  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Xot  often.  My  husband  is  at  his  studio  most  of  the 
day." 

The  boy  looked  at  her,  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and  then, 
with  a  sudden  rush  of  colour  to  his  face — 

"  You  should  not  stay  so  much  in  the  house.  AH11 
you  sometimes  go  for  a  little  walk  with  me,  Madame,  to 
Kensington  Gardens,  if  you  are  not  busy  in  the  afternoon  ?  " 

"Oh,  certainly,"  said  Sheila,  without  a  moment's  em- 
barrassment. "  Do  you  live  near  them  ?  " 

"  No,  I  live  in  Sloane-street ;  but  the  underground  rail- 
way brings  me  here  in  a  very  short  time." 

That  mention  of  Sloane-street  gave  a  twinge  to  Sheila'a 
heart.  Ought  she  to  have  been  so  ready  to  accept  offers  of 
new  friendship  just  as  her  old  friend  had  been  banished 
from  her  ? 

"  In  Sloane-street  ?     Do  you  know  Mr.  Ingram  ?  " 

"Oli  yes,  very  well.     Do  you  ?  " 

"  He  is  one  of  my  oldest  friends,"  said  Sheila,  bravely  : 
she  would  not  acknowledge  that  their  intimacy  was  a  thing 
of  the  past. 

"  He  is  a  very  good  friend  to  me — I  know  that,"  said 
young  Mosenberg,  with  a  laugh.  "  He  hired  a  piano, 
merely  because  I  used  to  go  into  his  rooms  at  night ;  and 
now  he  makes  me  play  over  all  my  most  difficult  music  when 
I  go  in,  and  he  sits  and  smokes  a  pipe,  and  pretends  to  like 

T  2 


276  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

it.  I  do  not  think  he  does ;  but  I  have  got  to  do  it  all 
the  same  ;  and  then,  afterwards,  I  sing  for  him  some 
songs  that  I  know  he  likes.  Madame,  I  think  I  can  surprise 
you." 

He  went  suddenly  to  the  piano,  and  began  to  sing,  in  a 
very  quiet  way — • 

"  O  soft  be  thy  slumbers,  by  Tigh-na-linne's  waters, 
Thy  late-wake  was  sung  by  MacDiarmid'a  fair  daughters, 
But  far  in  Lochaber  the  true  heart  was  weeping. 
Whose  hopes  are  entombed  in  the  grave  where  thou'rt  sleeping." 

It  was  the  lament  of  the  young  girl  whose  lover  had  been 
separated  from  her  by  false  reports,  and  who  died  before  he 
could  get  back  to  Lochaber  when  the  deception  was  dis- 
covered. And  the  wild,  sad  air  that  the  girl  is  supposed  to 
sing  seemed  so  strange  with  those  new  chords  that  this  boy- 
musician  gave  it,  that  Sheila  sat  and  listened  to  it  as  though 
it  were  the  sound  of  the  seas  about  Borva  coming  to  her 
with  a  new  voice  and  finding  her  altered  and  a  stranger. 

"  I  know  nearly  all  of  those  Highland  songs  that  Mr. 
Ingram  has  got,"  said  the  lad. 

"  I  did  not  know  he  had  any,"  Sheila  said. 

"  Sometimes  he  tries  to  sing  one  himself,"  said  the  boy, 
with  a  smile,  "  but  he  does  not  sing  very  well,  and  he  gets 
vexed  with  himself  in  fun,  and  flings  things  about  the  room. 
But  you  will  sing  some  of  those  songs,'Madame,  and  let  me 
hear  how  they  are  sung  in  the  north  ?  " 

"  Some  time,"  said  Sheila  ;  "  I  would  rather  listen  just 
now  to  all  you  can  tell  me  about  Mr.  Ingram — he  is 
such  a  very  old  friend  of  mine,  and  I  do  not  know  how  he 
lives." 

The  lad  speedily  discovered  that  there  was  at  least  one 
way  of  keeping  his  new  and  beautiful  acquaintance  pro- 
foundly interested  ;  and,  indeed,  he  went  on  talking  until 
Lavender  came  into  the  room,  in  evening  dress.  It  was 
eleven  o'clock  ;  and  young  Mosenberg  started  up  with  a 
thousand  apologies  and  hopes  that  he  had  not  detained 
Mrs.  Lavender.  N"o,  Mi's.  Lavender  was  not  going  out ; 
her  husband  was  going  round  for  an  hour  to  a  ball  that 
Mrs.  Kavanagh  was  giving,  but  she  preferred  to  stay  at 
home. 


GUESSES  277 

"  May  I  call  upon  you  to-morrow  afternoon,  Madame  ?  " 
said  the  boy,  as  he  was  leaving. 

"  I  shall  be  very  glad  if  you  will,"  Sheila  answered. 

And  as  he  went  along  the  pavement,  young  Mosenberg 
observed  to  his  companion  that  Mrs.  Lavender  did  not 
seem  to  have  gone  out  much,  and  that  it  was  very  good 
of  her  to  have  promised  to  go  with  him  occasionally  into 
Kensington  Gardens. 

"  Oh,  has  she  ?  "  said  Lavender. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  lad,  with  some  surprise. 

"  You  are  lucky  to  be  able  to  get  her  to  leave  the  house," 
her  husband  said  ;  "  I  can't." 

Perhaps  he  had  not  tried  so  much  as  the  words  seemed  to 
imply. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

GUESSES. 

"  MR.  IXGRAM,"  cried  young  Mosenberg,  bursting  into  the 
room  of  his  friend,  "  do  you  know  that  I  have  seen  your 
Princess  from  the  island  of  the  Atlantic  ?  Yes,  I  met 
her  yesterday,  and  I  went  up  to  the  house,  and  I  dined 
there,  -and  spent  all  the  evening  there." 

Ingram  was  not  surprised,  nor,  apparently,  much  interested. 
He  was  cutting  open  the  leaves  of  a  quarterly  review,  and 
a  freshly-filled  pipe  lay  on  the  table  beside  him.  A  fire  had 
been  lit,  more  for  cheerfulness  than  warmth  ;  the  shutters 
were  shut ;  there  was  some  whisky  on  the  table  ;  so  that 
this  small  apartment  seemed  to  have  its  share  of  bachelor's 
comforts. 

"  Well,"  said  Ingram,  quietly,  "  did  you  play  for  her  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  And  sing  for  her,  too  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Did  you  play  and  sing  your  very  best  for  her  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  did.  But  I  have  not  told  you  half  yet.  This 
afternoon  I  went  up  ;  and  she  went  out  for  a  walk  with 
me  ;  and  we  went  down  through  Kensington  Gardens,  and 
all  around  by  the  Serpentine -" 


278  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Did  she  go  into  that  parade  of  people  ?  "  said  Ingram, 
looking  up  with  some  surprise. 

"  No,"  said  the  lad,  looking  rather  crestfallen,  for  he 
would  have  liked  to  have  shown  off  Sheila  to  some  of  his 
friends  ;  "  she  would  not  go — she  preferred  to  watch  the 
small  boats  on  the  Serpentine  ;  and  she  was  very  kind,  too, 
in  speaking  to  the  children,  and  helping  them  with  their 
boats,  although  some  people  stared  at  her.  And  what  is 
more  than  all  these  things,  to-morrow  night  she  comes 
with  me  to  a  concert  in  the  St.  James's  Hall — yes." 

"  You  are  very  fortunate,"  said  Ingram,  with  a  smile,  for 
he  was  well  pleased  to  hear  that  Sheila  had  taken  a  fancy  to 
the  boy,  and  was  likely  to  find  his  society  amusing.  "  But 
you  have  not  told  me  yet  what  you  think  of  her." 

"  What  I  think  of  her  !  "  said  the  lad,  pausing  in  a 
bewildered  way,  as  if  he  could  find  no  words  to  express  his 
opinion  of  Sheila.  And  then  he  said  suddenly,  "  /  think  die 
is  like  the  Mother  of  God." 

"  You  irreverent  young  rascal ! "  said  Ingram,  lighting 
his  pipe,  "  how  dare  you  say  such  a  thing  ?  " 

"  I  mean  in  the  pictures — in  the  tall  pictures  you  see  in 
some  churches  abroad  and  far  up  in  a  half -dark  ness.  She 
has  the  same  sweet,  compassionate  look,  and  her  eyes  are 
sometimes  a  little  sad ;  and  when  she  speaks  to  you,  you 
think  you  have  known  her  for  a  long  time,  and  that  she 
wishes  to  be  very  kind  to  you.  But  she  is  not  a  Princess 
at  all,  as  you  told  me.  I  expected  to  find  her  grand, 
haughty,  wilful,  yes  ;  but  she  is  much  too  friendly  for  that ; 
and  when  she  laughs,  you  see  she  could  not  sweep  about  a 
room,  and  stare  at  people.  But  if  she  was  angry,  or  proud 
—perhaps  then • 

"  See  you  don't  make  her  angry,  then,"  said  Ingram. 
"Now  go  and  play  over  all  you  were  practising  in  the 
morning.  No  ! — stop  a  bit.  Sit  down  and  tell  me  something 
more  about  your  experiences  of  Shei — of  Mrs.  Lavender." 

Young  Mosenberg  laughed,  and  sat  down. 

"  Do  you  know,  Mr.  Ingram,  that  the  same  thing  occurred 
yesterday  night.  I  was  about  to  sing  some  more,  or  I  was 
asking  Mrs.  Lavender  to  sing  some  more — I  forget  which — 
but  she  said  to  me, '  Not  just  now.  I  ivish  you  to  sit  down 
and  tell  me  all  you  Imoiv  about  Mr.  Ingram?  " 


GUESSES  279 

"  And  she  no  sooner  honours  you  with  her  confidence  than 
you  carry  it  to  everyone  !  "  said  Ingrain,  somewhat  fearful  of 
the  boy's  tongue. 

"  Oh,  as  to  that,"  said  the  lad,  delighted  to  see  that  his 
friend  was  a  little  embarrassed, — "  as  to  that,  I  believe  she 
is  in  love  with  you." 

"  Mosenberg,"  said  Ingram,  with  a  flash  of  anger  in  his 
dark  eyes,  "  if  you  were  half-a-dozen  years  older,  I  Avould 
tin-ash  the  life  out  of  you.  Do  you  think  that  is  a  pretty 
sort  of  joke  to  make  about  a  woman  ?  Don't  you  know 
the  mischief  your  gabbling  tongue  might  make  ;  for  how  is 
every  one  to  know  that  you  are  talking  merely  impertinent 
nonsense  ?  " 

"  Oh,"  said  the  boy  audaciously,  "  I  did  not  mean  any- 
thing of  the  kind  you  see  in  comedies  or  in  operas,  breaking 
up  marriages,  and  causing  duels  !  Oh,  no.  I  think  she  is 
in  love  with  you  as  I  am  in  love  with  her  :  and  I  am,  ever 
since  yesterday." 

"  Well,  I  will  say  this  for  you,"  remarked  Ingram,  slowly, 
"  that  you  are  the  cheekiest  young  beggar  I  have  the  pleasure 
to  know.  You  are  in  love  with  her,  are  you  ?  A  lady  admits 
you  to  her  house,  is  particularly  kind  to  you,  talks  to  you  in 
confidence,  and  then  you  go  and  tell  people  that  you  are  in 
love  with  her  !  " 

"  I  did  not  tell  people  so,"  said  Mosenberg,  flushing  under 
the  severity  of  the  reproof  ;  "  I  told  you  only,  and  I  thought 
you  would  understand  what  I  meant.  I  should  have  told 
Lavender  himself  just  as  soon,  yes  ! — only  he  would  not 
care." 

"  How  do  you  know  ':  " 

"  Bah  !  "  said  the  boy,  impatiently.  "  Cannot  one  see  it  ? 
You  have  a  pretty  wife — much  prettier  than  anyone  you 
would  see  at  a  ball  at  Mrs.  Kavanagh's — and  you  leave 
her  at  home,  and  you  go  to  the  ball  to  amuse  yourself." 

This  boy,  Ingram  perceived,  was  getting  to  see  too 
clearly  ho\v  matters  stood.  He  bade  him  go  and  play  some 
music,  having  first  admonished  him  gravely  about  the 
necessity  of  keeping  some  watch  and  ward  over  his  tongue. 
Then  the  pipe  was  re-lit ;  and  a  fury  of  sound  arose  at  the 
other  end  of  the  room. 

So  Lavender,  forgetful  of  the  true-hearted   girl  who 


280  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

loved  him,  forgetful  of  his  own  generous  instincts,  forgetful 
of  the  future  that  his  fine  abilities  promised,  was  still  dang- 
ling after  this  alien  woman  ;  and  Sheila  was  left  at  home, 
with  her  troubles  and  piteous  yearnings  and  fancies  as  her 
only  companions.  Once  upon  a  time,  Ingrain  could  have 
gone  straight  up  to  him,  and  admonished  him,  and  driven 
him  to  amend  his  ways.  But  now  that  was  impossible. 

What  was  still  possible  ?  One  wild  project  occurred  to 
him  for  a  moment,  but  he  laughed  at  it,  and  dismissed  it. 
It  was  that  he  should  go  boldly  to  Mrs.  Lorraine  herself, 
ask  her  plainly  if  she  knew  what  cruel  injury  she  was  doing 
to  this  young  wife,  and  force  her  to  turn  Lavender  adrift. 
But  what  enterprise  of  the  days  of  old  romance  could  be 
compared  with  this  mad  proposal  ?  To  ride  up  to  a  castle, 
blow  a  trumpet,  and  announce  that  unless  a  certain  lady 
were  released  forthwith,  death  and  destruction  would  begin 
— all  that  was  simple  enough,  easy  and  according  to  rule  ; 
but  to  go  into  a  lady's  drawing-room,  without  an  introduc- 
tion, and  request  her  to  stop  a  certain  flirtation — that  was 
a  much  more  awful  undertaking.  But  Ingram  could  not 
altogether  dismiss  this  notion  from  his  head.  Mosenberg 
went  on  playing  no  longer  his  practising-pieces,  but  all 
manner  of  airs  which  he  knew  Ingram  liked ;  while  the 
small  sallow  man  with  the  brown  beard  lay  in  his  easy-chair, 
and  smoked  his  pipe,  and  gazed  attentively  at  his  toes  on 
the  fender. 

"  You  know  Mrs.  Kavanagh  and  her  daughter,  don't  you, 
Mosenberg  ? "  he  said,  during  an  interval  in  the  music. 

"  Not  much,"  said  the  boy.  "  They  were  in  England  only 
a  little  while  before  I  went  to  Leipsic." 

"  I  should  like  to  know  them." 

"  That  is  very  easy.  Mr.  Lavender  will  introduce  you  to 
them.  Mrs.  Lavender  said  he  went  there  very  much." 

"  What  would  they  do,  do  you  think,  if  I  went  up  and 
asked  to  see  them  ?  " 

"  The  servant  would  ask  if  it  was  about  beer  or  coals  that 
you  called." 

A  man  will  do  much  for  a  woman  who  is  his  friend  ;  but 
to  be  suspected  of  being  a  brewer's  traveller,  to  have  to  push 
one's  way  into  a  strange  drawing-room,  to  have  to  confront 
the  awful  stare  of  the  inmates,  and  then  to  have  to  deliver 


GUESSES  281 

a  message  which  they  will  probably  consider  as  the  very 
extreme  of  audacious  and  meddling  impertinence  !  The 
prospect  was  not  pleasant  ;  and  yet  Ingram,  as  he  sat  and 
thought  over  it  that  evening,  finally  resolved  to  encounter 
all  these  dangers  and  wounds.  He  could  help  Sheila  in  no 
other  way.  He  was  banished  from  her  house.  Perhaps  he 
might  induce  this  American  girl  to  release  her  captive,  and 
give  Lavender  back  to  his  own  wife.  What  were  a  few 
twinges  of  one's  self-respect,  or  risks  of  a  humiliating 
failure,  compared  with  the  possibility  of  befriending  Sheila 
in  some  small  way  ? 

Next  morning  he  went  early  in  to  Whitehall ;  and  about 
one  o'clock  started  off  for  Holland  Park.  He  wore  a  tall 
hat,  a  black  frock-coat,  and  yellow  kid  gloves.  He  went  in 
a  hansom,  so  that  the  person  who  opened  the  door  should 
know  that  he  was  not  a  brewer's  traveller.  In  this  wise  he 
reached  Mrs.  Kavanagh's  house,  which  Lavender  had  fre- 
(juently  pointed  out  to  him  in  passing,  about  half -past  one, 
and,  with  some  internal  tremors,  but  much  outward  calmness, 
went  up  the  broad  stone  steps. 

A  small  boy  in  buttons  opened  the  door. 

"  Is  Mrs.  Lorraine  at  home  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  boy. 

It  was  the  simplest  thing  in  the  world.  In  a  couple  of 
seconds  he  found  himself  in  a  big  drawing-room ;  and  the 
youth  had  taken  his  card  up  stairs.  Ingram  was  not  very 
sure  whether  his  success,  so  far,  was  due  to  the  hansom,  or 
to  his  tall  hat,  or  to  a  silver-headed  cane  which  his  grand- 
father had  brought  home  from  India.  However,  here  he 
was  in  the  house,  just  like  the  hero  of  one  of  those  fine  old 
farces  of  our  youth,  who  jumps  from  the  street  into  a  strange 
drawing-room,  flirts  with  the  maid,  hides  behind  a  screen, 
confronts  the  master,  and  marries  his  daughter  all  in  half 
an  hour,  the  most  exacting  unities  of  time  and  place  being 
faithfully  observed. 

Presently  the  door  was  opened,  and  a  young  lady,  pale 
and  calm  and  sweet  of  face,  approached  him,  and  not  only 
bowed  to  him,  but  held  out  her  hand. 

"  I  have  much  pleasure  in  making  your  acquaintance,  Mr. 
Ingram,"  she  said,  gently,  and  somewhat  slowly.  "  Mr. 
Lavender  has  frequently  promised  to  bring  you  to  see  us  ; 


282  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

for  he  lias  spoken  to  us  so  much  about  you,  that  we  had 
begun  to  think  we  already  knew  you.  Will  you  come  with 
me  up  stairs  that  I  may  introduce  you  to  mamma  ?  " 

Ingram  had  come  prepared  to  state  harsh  truths  bluntly, 
and  was  ready  to  meet  any  sort  of  anger  or  opposition  with 
a  perfect  frankness  of  intention.  But  he  certainly  had  not 
come  prepared  to  find  the  smart-tongued  and  fascinating 
American  widow  of  whom  lie  had  heard  so  much,  a  quiet, 
self-possessed,  and  gracious  young  lady,  of  singularly  winning 
manners,  and  clear  and  resolutely  honest  eyes.  Had  Laven- 
der been  quite  accurate  or  even  conscientious  in  his  gar- 
rulous talk  about  Mrs.  Lorraine  ? 

"  If  you  will  excuse  me,"  said  Ingram,  with  a  smile  that 
had  less  of  embarrassment  about  it  than  he  could  have  ex- 
pected, "  I  would  rather  speak  to  you  for  a  few  minutes  first. 
The  fact  is,  I  have  come  on  a  self-imposed  errand  ;  and  that 
must  be  my  apology  for — for  thrusting  myself " 

"  I  am  sure  no  apology  is  needed,"  said  the  girl.  "  We 
have  always  been  expecting  to  see  you.  Will  you  sit  down  ?  " 

He  put  his  hat  and  his  cane  on  the  table  ;  and  as  he  did 
so,  he  recorded  a  mental  resolution  not  to  be  led  away  by  the 
apparent  innocence  and  sweetness  of  this  woman.  What  a 
fool  he  had  been,  to  expect  her  to  appear  in  the  guise  of 
some  forward  and  giggling  coquette,  as  if  Frank  Lavender, 
with  all  his  faults,  could  have  suffered  anything  like  coarse- 
ness of  manners  !  But  was  this  woman  any  the  less  danger- 
ous that  she  was  refined  and  courteous,  and  had  the  speech 
and  bearing  of  a  gentlewoman  ? 

"  Mrs.  Lorraine,"  he  said,  lowering  his  eyebrows  some- 
what, "  I  may  as  well  be  frank  with  you.  I  have  come  upon 
an  unpleasant  errand — an  affair,  indeed,  which  ought  to  be 
no  business  of  mine  ;  but  sometimes,  when  you  care  a  little 
for  some  one,  you  don't  mind  running  the  risk  of  being 
treated  as  an  intermeddler.  You  know  that  I  know  Mrs. 
Lavender.  She  is  an  old  friend  of  mine.  She  was  almost 
a  child  when  I  knew  her  first ;  and  I  still  have  a  sort  of 
notion  that  she  is  a  child,  and  that  I  should  look  after  her, 
and  so — and  so " 

She  sat  quite  still.  There  was  no  surprise,  no  alarm,  no 
anger,  when  Sheila's  name  was  mentioned.  She  was  merely 
attentive  ;  but  now,  seeing  that  he  hesitated,  she  said — 


GUESSES  283 

"  I  do  not  know  what  you  have  to  say  ;  but  if  it  is  serious, 
may  not  I  ask  mamma  to  join  us  ?  " 

"  If  you  please,  no.  I  would  rather  speak  with  you,  as 
this  matter  concerns  yourself  only.  "Well,  the  fact  is,  I  have 
seen  for  some  time  back  that  Mrs.  Lavender  is  very  unhappy  ; 
she  is  left  alone  ;  she  knows  no  one  in  London  ;  perhaps  she 
does  not  care  to  join  much  in  those  social  amusements  that 
her  husband  enjoys.  I  say,  this  poor  girl  is  an  old  friend  of 
mine ;  I  cannot  help  trying  to  do  something  to  make  her 
less  wretched  ;  and  so  I  have  ventured  to  come  to  you  to  sec 
if  you  could  not  assist  me.  Mr.  Lavender  comes  very  much 
to  your  house  ;  and  Sheila  is  left  all  by  herself  ;  and  doubt- 
less she  begins  to  fancy  that  her  husband  is  neglectful, 
perhaps  indifferent  to  her,  and  may  get  to  imagine  things 
that  are  quite  wrong,  you  know,  and  that  could  be  explained 
away  by  a  little  kindness  on  your  part." 

"Was  this,  then,  the  fashion  in  which  Jonah  had  gone  up 
to  curse  the  wickedness  of  Nineveh  ?  As  he  had  spoken,  he 
had  been  aware  that  those  sincere,  somewhat  matter-of-fact, 
and  far  from  unfriendly  eyes  that  were  fixed  on  him  had 
undergone  no  change  whatever.  Here  was  no  vile  creature 
who  would  start  up,  with  a  guilty  conscience,  to  repel  the 
remotest  hint  of  an  accusation ;  and  indeed,  quite  uncon- 
sciously to  himself,  he  had  been  led  on  to  ask  for  her  help. 
Not  that  he  feared  her.  Not  that  he  could  not  have  said 
the  harshest  things  to  her  which  there  was  any  reason  for 
saying.  But  somehow  there  seemed  to  be  no  occasion  for 
the  utterance  of  any  cruel  truths. 

The  wonder  of  it  was,  too,  that  instead  of  being  wounded, 
indignant,  and  angry,  as  he  had  expected  her  to  be,  she 
betrayed  a  very  friendly  interest  in  Sheila,  as  though  she 
herself  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  matter. 

"  You  have  undertaken  a  very  difficult  task,  Mr.  Ingram," 
she  said,  with  a  smile.  "  I  don't  think  there  are  many 
married  ladies  in  London  who  have  a  friend  who  would  do 
as  much  for  them.  And,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  both  my 
mamma  and  mvself  have  come  to  the  same  conclusion  as 
yourself  about  Mr.  Lavender.  It  is  really  too  bad,  the  way 
in  which  he  allows  that  pretty  young  thing  to  remain  at 
home  ;  for  I  suppose  she  would  go  more  into  society  if  he 
were  to  coax  her  and  persuade  her.  We  have  done  what  we 


284  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

could,  in  sending  her  invitations,  in  calling  on  her,  and  in 
begging  Mr.  Lavender  to  bring  her  with  him.  But  he  has 
always  some  excuse  for  her,  so  that  we  never  see  her.  And 
yet  I  am  sure  he  does  not  mean  to  give  her  pain  ;  for  he  is 
very  proud  of  her,  and  madly  extravagant  wherever  she  is 
concerned,  and  sometimes  he  takes  sudden  fits  of  trying  to 
please  her  and  be  kind  to  her  that  are  quite  odd  in  their 
Avay.  Can  you  tell  me  what  we  should  do  ? " 

Ingram  looked  at  her  for  a  moment,  and  said,  gravely  and 
slowly — 

"  Before  we  talk  any  more  about  that,  I  must  clear  my 
conscience.  I  believe  that  I  have  done  you  a  wrong.  I 
came  here  prepared  to  accuse  you  of  drawing  away  Mr. 
Lavender  from  his  wife,  of  seeking  amusement  and  perhaps 
some  social  distinction  by  keeping  him  continually  dangling 
after  you  ;  and  I  meant  to  reproach  you,  or  even  threaten 
you,  until  you  promised  never  to  see  him  again." 

A  quick  flush,  partly  of  shame  and  partly  of  annoyance, 
sprang  to  the  fair  and  pale  face  ;  but  she  answered,  calmly — 

"  It  is  perhaps  as  well  that  you  did  not  tell  me  this  a  few 
minutes  ago.  May  I  ask  what  has  led  you  to  change  your 
opinion  of  me,  if  it  has  changed  ? " 

"  Of  course  it  has  changed,"  he  said,  promptly  and  em- 
phatically. "  I  can  see  that  I  did  you  a  great  injury  ;  and 
I  apologize  for  it,  and  beg  your  forgiveness.  But  when  you 
ask  me  what  has  led  me  to  change  my  opinion,  what  am  I 
to  say  ?  Your  manner,  perhaps,  more  than  what  you  have 
said,  has  convinced  me  that  I  was  wrong." 

"  Perhaps  you  are  again  mistaken,"  she  said  coldly  ;  "  you 
get  rapidly  to  conclusions." 

"  The  reproof  is  just,"  he  said.  "  You  are  quite  right.  I 
have  made  a  blunder  ;  there  is  no  mistake  about  it." 

"  But  do  you  think  it  was  fair,"  she  said  with  some 
spirit,  "  do  you  think  it  was  fair  to  believe  all  this  harm 
about  a  woman  you  had  never  seen  ?  Now,  listen.  A 
hundred  times  I  have  begged  Mr.  Lavender  to  be  more 
attentive  to  his  wife — not  in  these  words,  of  course,  but 
as  directly  as  I  could.  Mamma  has  !  given  parties,  made 
arrangements  for  visits,  drives,  and  all  sorts  of  things,  to 
tempt  Mrs.  Lavender  to  come  to  us,  and  all  in  vain.  Of 
course,  you  can't  thrust  yourself  on  any  one  like  that. 


G&BSSJBS  285 

Though  maiUma  and  myself    like  Mrs.    Lavender    very 
well,  it  is  asking  too  much  that  we  should  encounter  the 

humiliation  of  intermeddling 

Here  she  stopped  suddenly,  with  the  least  show  of  embar- 
rassment. Then  she  said,  frankly — 

"  You  are  an  old  friend  of  hers.  It  is  very  good  of  you  to 
have  risked  so  much  for  the  sake  of  that  girl.  There  are  very 
few  gentlemen  whom  one  meets  who  would  do  as  much." 

Ingram  could  say  nothing,  and  was  a  little  impatient  with 
himself.  Was  he  to  be  first  reproved,  and  then  treated  with 
an  indulgent  kindness,  by  a  mere  girl  ? 

"  Mamma,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  as  an  elderly  lady  entered 
the  room,  "  let  me  introduce  to  you  Mr.  Ingram,  whom  you 
must  already  know.  '  He  proposes  we  should  join  in  some 
conspiracy  to  inveigle  Mrs.  Lavender  into  society,  and  make 
the  poor  little  thing  amuse  herself." 

"  Little  !  "  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  with  a  smile  ;  "  she  is  a 
good  deal  taller  than  you  are,  my  dear.  But  I  am  afraid, 
Mr.  Ingram,  you  have  undertaken  a  hopeless  task.  Will  you 
stay  to  luncheon  and  talk  it  over  with  us  ?  " 

"  I  hope  you  will,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine  ;  and  naturally 
enough  he  consented. 

Luncheon  was  just  ready.  As  they  were  going  into  the 
room  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hall,  the  younger  lady  said 
to  Ingram,  in  a  quiet  undertone,  but  with  much  indifference 
of  manner — 

"  You  know,  if  you  think  I  ought  to  give  up  Mr.  Laven- 
der's acquaintance  altogether,  I  will  do  so  at  once.  But 
perhaps  that  will  not  be  necessary." 

So  this  was  the  house  in  which  Sheila's  husband  spent  so 
much  of  his  time  ;  and  these  were  the  two  ladies  of  whom 
KO  much  had  been  said  and  surmised.  There  were  three  of 
Lavender's  pictures  on' the  walls  of  the  dining-room  ;  and 
as  Ingram  inadvertently  glanced  at  them,  Mrs.  Lorraine 
said  to  him — 

"  Don't  you  think  it  is  a  pity  Mr.  Lavender  should  con- 
tinue drawing  those  imaginative  sketches  of  heads  ?  I  do 
not  think,  myself,  that  he  does  himself  justice  in  that  way. 
Some  bits  of  landscape,  now,  that  he  has  shown  me,  seemed 
to  me  to  have  quite  a  definite  character  about  them,  and 
promised  far  more  than  anything  else  of  his  I  have  seen." 


286  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"That  is  precisely  what  I  think,"  said  Ingram,  partly 
amused  and  partly  annoyed  to  find  that  this  girl,  with  her 
clear  grey  eyes,  her  soft  and  musical  voice,  and  her  singular 
delicacy  of  manner,  had  an  evil  trick  of  saying  the  very 
things  he  would  himself  have  said,  and  leaving  him  with 
nothing  but  a  helpless  "  yes." 

"  I  think  he  ought  to  have  given  up  his  club  when  he 
married.  Most  English  gentlemen  do  that  when  they  marry, 
do  they  not  ?"  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh. 

"  Some,"  said  Ingram.  "  But  a  good  deal  of  nonsense  is 
talked  about  the  influence  of  clubs  in  that  way.  It  is  really 
absurd  to  suppose  that  the  size  or  the  shape  of  a  building 
can  alter  a  man's  moral  character " 

"  It  does,  though,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  confidently.  "  I 
can  tell  directly  if  a  gentleman  has  been  accustomed  to 
spend  his  time  in  clubs.  When  he  is  surprised,  or  angry, 
or  impatient,  you  can  perceive  blanks  in  his  conversation, 
which  in  a  club,  I  suppose,  would  be  filled  up.  Don't  you 
know  poor  old  Colonel  Hannen's  way  of  talking,  mamma  ? 
This  old  gentleman,  Mr.  Ingram,  is  very  fond  of  speaking 
to  you  about  political  liberty,  and  the  rights  of  conscience  ; 
and  he  generally  becomes  so  confused  that  he  gets  vexed 
Avith  himself,  and  makes  odd  pauses,  as  if  he  were  invariably 
addressing  himself  in  very  rude  language  indeed.  Sometimes 
you  would  think  he  was  like  a  railway  engine,  going  blindly 
and  helplessly  on  through  a  thick  and  choking  mist  ;  and 
you  can  see  that  if  there  were  no  ladies  present  he  would  let 
off  a  few  crackers — fog-signals,  as  it  were — just  to  bring 
himself  up  a  bit,  and  let  people  know  where  he  was.  Then 
he  will  go  on  again,  talking  away,  until  you  fancy  yourself 
in  a  tunnel,  with  a  throbbing  noise  in  your  ears,  and  all  the 
daylight  shut  out,  and  you  perhaps  getting  to  wish  that  on 
the  whole  you  were  dead." 

"  Cecilia  ! " 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  mamma,"  said  the  younger  lady, 
with  a  quiet  smile  ;  "you  look  so  surprised,  that  Mr.  Ingram 
will  give  me  credit  for  not  often  having  erred  in  that  way. 
You  look  as  though  a  hare  had  turned  and  attacked  you." 

"  That  would  give  most  people  a  fright,"  said  Ingram, 
with  a  laugh.  He  was  rapidly  forgetting  the  object  of  his 
mission.  The  almost  childish  softness  of  voice  of  this  girl, 


GUESSES  287 

and  the  perfect  composure  with  which  she  uttered  little 
sayings  that  showed  considerable  sharpness  of  observation, 
and  a  keen  enjoyment  of  the  grotesque,  had  an  odd  sort  of 
fascination  for  him.  He  totally  forgot  that  Lavender  had 
been  fascinated  by  it  too.  If  he  had  been  reminded  of  the 
fact  at  this  moment,  he  would  have  said  that  the  boy  had, 
as  usual,  got  sentimental  about  a  pretty  pair  of  big  grey 
uye.s  and  a  fine  profile,  while  he,  Ingram,  was  possessed  by 
nothing  but  a  purely  intellectual  admiration  of  certain 
qualities  of  brightness,  sincerity  of  speech,  and  womanly 
shrewdness. 

Luncheon,  indeed,  was  over  before  any  mention  was  made 
of  the  Lavenders  ;  and  when  they  returned  to  that  subject, 
it  appeared  to  Ingram  that  their  relations  had  in  the  mean- 
time got  to  be  very  friendly,  and  that  they  were  really  dis- 
cussing this  matter  as  if  they  formed  a  little  family  conclave. 

"  I  have  told  Mr.  Ingram,  mamma,"  Mrs.  Lorraine  said, 
"  that,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  will  do  whatever  he  thinks 
I  ought  to  do.  Mr.  Lavender  has  been  a  friend  of  ours  for 
some  time  ;  and  of  course  he  cannot  be  treated  with  any 
rudeness  or  incivility  ;  but  if  we  are  wounding  the  feelings 
of  any  one  by  asking  him  to  come  here — and  he  certainly 
has  visited  us  pretty  often — why,  it  would  be  easy  to  lessen 
the  number  of  his  calls.  Is  that  what  we  should  do,  Mr. 
Ingram  ?  You  would  not  have  us  quarrel  with  him  ?  " 

"  Especially,"  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  with  a  smile,  "  that 
there  is  no  certainty  he  will  spend  more  of  his  time  with  his 
wife  merely  because  he  spends  less  of  it  here.  And  yet  I 
fancy  he  is  a  very  good-natured  man." 

"  He  /.s-  very  good-natured,"  said  Ingram,  with  decision. 
"  I  have  known  him  for  years,  and  I  know  he  is  exceedingly 
unselfish,  that  he  would  do  ridiculously  generous  things  to 
serve  a  friend,  and  that  a  better-intentioned  fellow  does  not 
breathe  in  the  world.  But  he  is,  at  times,  I  admit,  very 
thoughtless  and  inconsiderate " 

•'  That  sort  of  good -nature,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  in  her 
gentlest  voice,  "  is  very  good  in  its  way,  but  rather  uncertain. 
So  long  as  it  shines  in  one  direction  it  is  all  right,  and  quite 
trustworthy  ;  for  you  want  a  hard  brush  to  brush  sunlight 
off  a  wall.  But  when  the  sunlisrht  shifts,  you  know " 

"  The  wall  is  left  in  the  cold.    "Well,"  said  Ingrain,  "  I  am 


288  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

afraid  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  dictate  to  you  what  you 
ought  to  do.  I  do  not  wish  to  draw  you  into  any  interference 
between  husband  and  wife,  or  even  to  let  Mr.  Lavender 
know  that  you  think  he  is  not  treating  Shei — Mrs.  Lavender 
— properly.  But  if  you  were  to  hint  to  him  that  he  ought 
to  pay  some  attention  to  her — that  he  should  not  be  going 
everywhere  as  if  he  were  a  young  bachelor  in  chambers  ;  if 
you  would  discourage  his  coming  to  see  you  without  bringing 
her  also,  and  so  forth — surely  he  would  see  what  you  mean. 
Perhaps  I  ask  too  much  of  you  ;  but  I  had  intended  to  ask 
more.  The  fact  is,  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  I  had  done  your  daughter 
the  injustice  of  supposing " 

"  I  thought  we  had  agreed  to  say  no  more  about  that," 
said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  quickly  ;  and  Ingram  was  silent. 

Half  an  hour  thereafter  he  was  walking  back  through 
Holland  Park,  in  the  warm  light  of  an  autumn  afternoon. 
The  place  seemed  much  changed  since  he  had  seen  it  a  couple 
of  hours  before.  The  double  curve  of  big  houses  had  a  more 
friendly  and  hospitable  look  ;  the  very  air  seemed  to  be 
more  genial  and  comfortable  since  he  had  driven  up  here  in 
the  hansom. 

Perhaps  Mr.  Ingram  was  at  this  moment  a  little  more  per- 
turbed, pleased,  and  bewildered  than  he  would  have  liked  to 
confess.  He  had  discovered  a  great  deal  in  these  two  hours  ; 
been  much  surprised  and  fascinated  ;  and  had  come  away 
fairly  stupefied  with  the  result  of  his  mission.  He  had, 
indeed,  been  successful :  Lavender  would  now  find  a  different 
welcome  awaiting  him  in  the  house  in  which  he  had  been 
spending  nearly  all  his  time,  to  the  neglect  of  his  wife. 
But  the  fact  is,  that  as  Edward  Ingram  went  rapidly  over 
in  his  own  mind  everything  that  had  occurred  since  his 
entrance  into  that  house,  as  he  anxiously  recalled  the  re- 
marks made  to  him,  the  tone  and  looks  accompanying 
them,  and  his  own  replies,  it  was  not  of  Lavender's  affairs 
alone  that  he  thought.  He  confessed  to  himself  frankly 
that  he  had  never  yet  met  any  woman  who  had  so  surprised 
him  into  admiration  on  their  first  meeting. 

Yet  what  had  she  said  ?  Nothing  very  particular.  Was 
it  in  the  bright  intelligence  of  the  grey  eyes,  that  seemed  to 
see  everything  he  meant  with  an  instant  quickness,  and  that 
seemed  to  agree  with  him  even  before  he  spoke  ?  He  re- 


GUESSES  289 

fleeted,  now  that  he  was  in  the  open  air,  that  he  must  have 
persecuted  these  two  women  dreadfully.  In  getting  away 
from  Lavender's  affairs,  they  had  touched  on  pictures,  books, 
and  what  not — on  all  sorts  of  topics,  indeed,  except  those 
which,  as  Ingram  had  anticipated,  such  a  creature  as  Mrs. 
Lorraine  would  naturally  have  found  interesting.  And  he 
had  to  confess  to  himself  that  he  had  lectured  his  two  help- 
less victims  most  unmercifully.  He  was  quite  conscious  that 
he  sometimes  laid  down  the  law  in  an  authoritative  and 
even  sententious  manner.  On  first  going  into  the  house, 
certain  things  said  by  Mrs.  Lorraine  had  almost  surprised 
him  into  a  mood  of  mere  acquiescence  ;  but  after  luncheon 
he  had  assumed  his  ordinary  manner  of  tutor  in  general  to 
the  universe,  and  had  informed  those  two  women,  in  a 
distinct  fashion,  what  their  opinions  ought  to  be  on  half 
the  social  conundrums  of  the  day. 

He  now  reflected,  with  much  compunction,  that  this  was 
highly  improper.  He  ought  to  have  asked  about  flower- 
shows  ;  and  inquired  whether  the  Princess  of  Wales  was 
looking  well  of  late.  Some  reference  to  the  last  Parisian 
comedy  might  have  introduced  a  disquisition  on  the  new 
greys  and  greens  of  the  French  milliners,  with  a  passing 
mention  made  of  the  price  paid  for  a  pair  of  ponies  by  a 
certain  Marquise  unattached.  He  had  not  spoken  of  one  of 
these  things  ;  perhaps  he  could  not,  if  he  had  tried.  He 
remembered,  with  an  awful  consciousness  of  guilt,  that  he 
had  actually  discoursed  of  woman  suffrage,  of  the  public 
conscience  of  New  York,  of  the  extirpation  of  the  Indians, 
and  a  dozen  different  things,  not  only  taking  no  heed  of 
any  opinions  that  his  audience  of  two  might  hold,  but 
insisting  on  their  accepting  his  opinions  as  the  expression 
of  absolute  and  incontrovertible  truth. 

He  became  more  and  more  dissatisfied  with  himself.  If 
he  could  only  go  back,  now,  he  would  be  much  more  wary, 
more  submissive  and  complaisant,  more  anxious  to  please. 
What  right  had  he  to  abuse  the  courtesy  and  hospitality  of 
these  two  strangers,  and  lecture  them  on  the  Constitution 
of  their  own  country  ?  He  was  annoyed  beyond  expression 
that  they  had  listened  to  him  with  so  much  patience. 

And  yet  he  could  not  have  seriously  offended  them  ;  for 
they  had  earnestly  besought  him  to  dine  with  them  on  the 

u 


290  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

following  Tuesday  evening,  to  meet  an  American  judge  ; 
and,  when  he  had  consented,  Mrs.  Lorraine  had  written 
down  on  a  card  the  date  and  hour,  lest  he  should  forget. 
He  had  that  card  in  his  pocket  :  surely  he  could  not  have 
offended  them  ?  If  he  had  pursued  this  series  of  questions, 
he  might  have  gone  on  to  ask  himself  why  he  should  be  so 
anxious  not  to  have  offended  these  two  new  friends.  He 
was  not  ordinarily  very  sensitive  to  the  opinions  that  might 
be  formed  of  him — more  especially  by  persons  living  out  of 
his  own  sphere,  with  whom  he  was  not  likely  to  associate. 
He  did  not,  indeed,  as  pa  general  rule,  suffer  himself  to  be 
perturbed  about  anything  ;  and  yet,  as  he  went  along  the 
busy  thoroughfare  at  this  moment,  he  was  conscious  that 
rarely  in  his  life  had  he  been  so  ill  at  ease. 

Something  now  occurred  that  startled  him  out  of  his 
reverie.  Communing  with  himself,  he  was  staring  blankly 
ahead,  taking  little  note  of  the  people  whom  he  saw.  But 
somehow,  in  a  vague  and  dream-like  way,  he  seemed  to 
become  aware  that  there  was  someone  in  front  of  him— a 
long  way  ahead  as  yet — whom  he  knew.  He  was  still 
thinking  of  Mrs.  Lorraine,  and  unconsciously  postponing 
the  examination  of  this  approaching  figure,  or  rather  pair  of 
figures,  when  with  a  sudden  start,  he  found  Sheila's  sad  and 
earnest  eyes  fixed  upon  him.  He  woke  up  as  from  a  dream. 
He  saw  that  young  Mosenberg  was  with  her  ;  and  naturally 
the  boy  would  have  approached  Ingram,  and  stopped,  and 
spoken.  But  Ingram  paid  no  attention  to  him.  He  was, 
with  a  quick  pang  at  his  heart,  regarding  Sheila,  with  the 
knowledge  that  on  her  rested  the  cruel  decision  as  to  whether 
she  should  come  forward  to  him  or  not.  He  was  not  aware 
that  her  husband  had  forbidden  her  to  have  any  communica- 
tion with  him  ;  yet  he  had  guessed  as  much,  partly  from  his 
knowledge  of  Lavender's  impatient  disposition,  and  partly 
from  the  glance  he  caught  of  her  eyes  when  he  woke  up 
from  his  trance. 

Young  Mosenberg  turned  with  surprise  to  his  companion. 
She  was  passing  on  ;  he  did  not  even  see  that  she  had  bowed 
to  Ingram,  with  a  face  flushed  with  shame  and  pain,  and 
with  eyes  cast  down.  Ingram,  too,  was  passing  on,  without 
even  shaking  hands  with  her,  or  uttering  a  word.  Mosen- 
berg was  too  bewildered  to  attempt  any  protest ;  lie  merely 


SHEILA'S  STRA  TA GEM  291 

followed  Sheila,  with  a  conviction  that  something  desperate 
had  occurred,  and  that  he  would  best  consult  her  feelings  by 
making  no  reference  to  it. 

But  that  one  look  that  the  girl  had  directed  to  her  old 
friend  before  she  bowed  and  passed  on  had  filled  him  with 
dismay  and  despair.  It  was  somehow  like  the  piteous  look 
of  a  wounded  animal,  incapable  of  expressing  its  pain.  All 
thoughts  and  fancies  of  his  own  little  vexations  or  em- 
barrassments were  instantly  banished  from  him ;  he  could 
only  see  before  him  those  sad  and  appealing  eyes,  full  of 
kindness  to  him,  he  thought,  and  of  grief  that  she  should 
be  debarred  from  speaking  to  him,  and  of  resignation  to  her 
own  lot. 

Gwdyr  House  did  not  get  much  work  out  of  him  that  day. 
He  sat  in  a  small  room  in  a  back  part  of  the  building,  looking 
out  on  a  lonely  little  square,  silent,  and  ruddy  with  the 
reflected  light  of  the  sunset. 

"  A  hundred  Mrs.  Lorraines,"  he  was  thinking  to  himself, 
bitterly  enough,  "  will  not  save  my  poor  Sheila.  She  will 
die  of  a  broken  heart.  I  can  see  it  in  her  face.  And  it  is 
I  who  have  done  it — from  first  to  last  it  is  I  who  have  done 
it ;  and  now  I  can  do  nothing  to  help  her." 

That  became  the  burden  and  refrain  of  all  his  reflections. 
It  was  he  who  had  done  this  frightful  thing.  It  was  he 
who  had  taken  away  the  young  Highland  girl — his  good 
Sheila — from  her  home ;  and  ruined  her  life  and  broken 
her  heart.  And  he  could  do  nothing  to  help  her. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

SHEILA'S  STRATAOKX. 

"WE  met  Mr.   Ingram  to-day,"  said  young  Mosenberg, 
ingenuously. 

He  was  dining  with  Lavender,  not  at  home,  but  at  a 
certain  club  in  St.  James's  Street ;  and  either  his  curiosity 
was  too  great,  or  he  had  forgotten  altogether  Ingrain's 
warnings  to  him  that  he  should  hold  his  tongue. 

"  Oh,  did  you  ?  "  said  Lavender,  showing  no  great  interest. 
"  Waiter,  some  French  mustard.  What  did  Ingram  say  to 
you  '; " 

u  2 


292  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

The  question  was  asked  with  much  apparent  indifference ; 
and  the  boy  stared. 

"  "Well,"  he  said,  at  length,  "  I  suppose  there  is  some 
misunderstanding  between  Mrs.  Lavender  and  Mr.  Ingram, 
for  they  both  saw  each  other,  and  they  both  passed  on 
without  speaking.  I  was  very  sorry,  yes.  I  thought  they 
were  friends.  I  thought  Mr.  Ingrain  knew  Mrs.  Lavender 
even  before  you  did  ;  but  they  did  not  speak  to  each  other, 
not  one  word." 

Lavender  was  in  one  sense  pleased  to  hear  this.  He  liked 
to  hear  that  his  wife  had  been  obedient  to  him.  But  he 
said  to  himself,  with  a  sharp  twinge  of  conscience,  she  was 
carrying  her  obedience  too  far.  He  had  never  meant  that 
she  should  not  even  speak  to  her  old  friend.  He  would 
show  Sheila  that  he  was  not  unreasonable.  He  would  talk 
to  her  about  it  as  soon  as  he  got  home,  and  in  as  kindly  a 
Avay  as  possible. 

Mosenberg  did  not  play  billiards,  but  they  remained  late 
in  the  billiard-room,  Lavender  playing  pool,  and  getting  out 
of  it  rather  successfully.  He  could  not  speak  to  Sheila  that 
night ;  but  next  morning,  before  going  out,  he  did. 

"  Sheila,"  he  said,  "  Mosenberg  told  me  last  night  that 
you  met  Mr.  Ingram,  and  did  not  speak  to  him.  Now,  I 
didn't  mean  anything  like  that.  You  must  not  think  me 
unreasonable.  All  I  want  is,  that  he  shall  not  interfere 
with  our  affairs  and  try  to  raise  some  unpleasantness 
between  you  and  me,  such  as  might  arise  from  the  inter- 
ference of  even  the  kindest  of  friends.  When  you  meet 
him  outside,  or  at  anyone's  house,  I  hope  you  will"  speak  to 
him  just  as  usual." 

Sheila  replied,  calmly — 

"  If  I  am  not  allowed  to  receive  Mr.  Ingrain  here,  I 
cannot  treat  him  as  a  friend  elsewhere.  I  would  rather  not 
have  friends  whom  I  can  only  speak  to  in  the  streets." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Lavender,  wincing  under  the  rebuke, 
but  fancying  that  she  would  soon  repent  her  of  this  resolve. 
In  the  meantime,  if  she  would  have  it  so,  she  should  have 
it  so. 

So  that  was  an  end  of  this  question  of  Mr.  Ingram's 
interference  for  the  present.  But  very  soon — in  a  couple 
of  days,  indeed — Lavender  perceived  the  change  that  had 


SHEILA  *S  STRA  TA  GEM  293 

been  wrought  in  the  house  in  Holland  Park  to  which  he 
had  been  accustomed  to  resort. 

"  Cecilia,"  Mrs.  Kavanagh  had  said,  on  Ingrain's  leaving, 
"you  must  not  be  rude  to  Mr.  Lavender." 

She  knew  the  perfect  independence  of  that  gentle  young 
lady,  and  was  rather  afraid  it  might  carry  her  too  far. 

"  Of  course  I  shall  not  be,  mamma,"  Mrs.  Lorraine  had 
said.  "  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a  courageous  act  as  that 
man  coming  up  to  two  strangers  and  challenging  them,  all 
on  behalf  of  a  girl  married  to  someone  else  ?  You  know 
that  was  the  meaning  of  his  visit.  He  thought  I  was 
flirting  with  Mr.  Lavender,  and  keeping  him  from  his  wife. 
I  wonder  how  many  men  there  are  in  London  who  would 
have  walked  twenty  yards  to  help  in  such  a  matter." 

"My  dear,  he  may  have  been  in  love  with  that  pretty 
young  lady  before  she  was  married." 

"  Oh  no,"  said  the  clear-eyed  daughter,  quietly,  but  quite 
confidently.  "  He  would  not  be  so  ready  to  show  his 
interest  in  her  if  that  were  so.  Either  he  would  be  modest, 
and  ashamed  of  his  rejection  ;  or  vain,  and  attempt  to  make 
a  mystery  about  it." 

"  Perhaps  you  are  right,"  said  the  mother  :  she  seldom 
found  her  daughter  wrong  on  such  points. 

"  I  am  sure  I  am  right,  mamma.  He  talks  about  her  as 
fondly,  and  frequently,  and  openly,  as  a  man  might  talk 
about  his  own  daughter.  Besides  you  can  see  he  is  talking 
honestly.  That  man  couldn't  deceive  a  child  if  he  were  to 
try.  You  see  everything  in  his  face." 

"  You  seem  to  have  been  much  interested  in  him,"  said 
Mrs.  Kavanagh,  with  no  appearance  of  sarcasm. 

"  Well,  I  don't  think  I  meet  such  men  often,  and  that  is 
the  truth.  Do  you  ?  " 

This  was  carrying  the  war  into  the  enemy's  country. 

"  I  like  him  very  well,"  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh.  "  I  think 
lie  is  honest.  I  do  not  think  he  dresses  very  carefully ; 
and  he  is  perhaps  too  intent  on  convincing  you  that  his 
opinions  are  right." 

"Well,  for  my  part,"  said  her  daughter,  with  just  the 
least  tinge  of  warmth  in  her  manner,  "  I  confess  I  like  a 
man  who  has  opinions,  and  who  is  not  afraid  to  say  so.  I 
don't  h'ud  many  who  have.  And  as  for  his  dressing,  one 


294  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

gets  rather  tired  of  men  who  come  to  you  every  evening  to 
impress  you  with  the  excellence  of  their  tailor.  As  if  women 
were  to  be  captured  by  millinery !  Don't  we  know  the 
value  of  linen  and  woollen  fabrics  ?  " 

"  My  dear  child,  you  are  throwing  away  your  vexation 
on  someone  whom  I  don't  know.  It  isn't  Mr.  Lavender  ?  " 

"  Oh  dear,  no  !  He  is  not  so  silly  as  that :  he  dresses 
well,  but  there  is  perfect  freedom  about  his  dress.  He  is 
too  much  an  artist  to  sacrifice  himself  to  his  clothes." 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  a  good  word  for  him  at  last.  I 
think  you  have  been  rather  hard  on  him  since  Mr.  Ingram 
called  ;  and  that  is  the  reason  I  asked  you  to  be  careful." 

She  was  quite  careful,  but  as  explicit  as  good  manners 
would  allow.  Mrs.  Lorraine  was  most  particular  in  asking 
about  Mrs.  Lavender,  and  in  expressing  her  regret  that  they 
so  seldom  saw  her. 

"  She  has  been  brought  up  in  the  country,  you  know," 
said  Lavender,  with  a  smile  ;  "  and  there  the  daughters  of 
a  house  are  taught  a  number  of  domestic  duties  that  they 
would  consider  it  a  sin  to  neglect.  She  \vould  be  unhappy 
if  you  caused  her  to  neglect  them ;  she  would  take  her 
pleasure  with  a  bad  conscience." 

"  But  she  cannot  be  occupied  with  them  all  day." 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Lorraine,  how  often  have  we  discussed  the 
question  !  And  you  know  you  have  me  at  a  disadvantage  ; 
for  how  can  I  describe  to  you  what  those  mysterious  duties 
are  ?  I  only  know  that  she  is  pretty  nearly  always  busy 
with  something  or  other  ;  and  in  the  evening,  of  course,  ^he 
is  generally  too  tired  to  think  of  going  out  any  more." 

"  Oh,  but  you  must  try  to  get  her  out.  Next  Tuesday, 
now,  Judge  Low  is  going  to  dine  with  us,  and  you  know  how 
amusing  he  is.  If  you  have  no  other  engagement,  couldn't 
you  bring  Mrs.  Lavender  to  dine  with  us  on  that  evening  ?  " 

Now,  on  former  occasions,  something  of  the  same  sort  of 
invitation  had  frequently  been  given  ;  and  it  was  generally 
answered  by  Lavender's  making  an  excuse  for  his  wife,  and 
promising  to  come  himself.  What  was  his  astonishment  to 
find  Mrs.  Lorraine  plainly,  and  most  courteously,  intimating 
that  the  invitation  was  addressed  distinctly  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lavender  as  a  couple  !  When  he  regretted  that  Mrs. 
Lavender  could  not  come,  she  said  quietly — • 


SHEILA'S  STRATAGEM  295 

"  Oh,  I  am  so  sorry  !  You  would  have  met  an  old  friend 
of  yours  here,  as  well  as  the  Judge — Mr.  Ingram." 

Lavender  made  no  further  sign  of  surprise  or  curiosity 
than  to  lift  his  eyebrows,  and  say — "  Indeed  !  " 

But  when  he  left  the  house,  certain  dark  suspicions  were 
troubling  his  mind.  Nothing  had  been  said  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  Ingram  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mrs. 
Kavanagh  and  her  daughter  ;  but  there  was  that  in  Mrs. 
Lorraine's  manner  which  convinced  Lavender  that  something 
had  happened.  Had  Ingram  carried  his  interference  to  the 
extent  of  complaining  to  them  ?  Had  he  overcome  a 
repugnance  which  he  had  repeatedly  admitted,  and  thrust 
himself  upon  these  two  people  for  the  very  purpose  of  making 
him,  Lavender,  odious  and  contemptible  ?  Lavender's 
cheeks  burned  as  he  thought  of  this  possibility.  Mrs. 
Lorraine  had  been  most  courteous  to  him ;  but  the  longer 
he  dwelt  on  these  vague  surmises,  the  deeper  grew  his 
consciousness  that  he  had  been  turned  out  of  the  place, 
morally  if  not  physically.  What  was  that  excess  of  courtesy 
but  a  cloak  ?  If  she  had  meant  less,  she  would  have  been 
more  careless ;  and  all  through  the  interview  he  had 
remarked  that,  instead  of  the  free  warfare  of  talk  that 
generally  went  on  between  them,  Mrs.  Lorraine  was  most 
formally  polite,  and  apparently  watchful  of  her  words. 

He  went  home  in  a  passion,  which  was  all  the  more  con- 
suming that  it  could  not  be  vented  on  anyone.  As  Sheila 
had  not  spoken  to  Ingram — as  she  had  even  nerved  herself 
to  wound  him  by  passing  him  without  notice  in  the  street — 
she  could  not  be  held  responsible  ;  and  yet  he  wished  that 
he  could  have  upbraided  someone  for  this  mischief  that  had 
been  done.  Should  he  go  straight  down  to  Ingrain's 
lodgings,  and  have  it  out  with  him  ?  At  first  he  was 
strongly  inclined  to  do  so ;  but  wiser  counsels  prevailed. 
Ingram  had  a  keen  and  ready  tongue,  and  a  way  of  saying 
things  that  made  them  rankle  afterwards  in  the  memory. 
Besides,  he  would  go  into  court  with,  a  defective  case.  He 
could  say  nothing,  unless  Ingram  admitted  that  he  had  tried 
to  poison  the  mind  of  Mrs.  Lorraine  against  him  ;  and,  of 
course,  if  there  were  a  quarrel,  who  would  be  so  foolish  as  to 
make  such  an  admission  ?  Ingrain  would  laugh  at  him  ; 
would  refuse  to  admit  or  deny  ;  would  increase  his  anger 


296  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

without  affording  him  an  opportunity  of  revenging  him- 
self. 

Sheila  could  see  that  her  husband  was  troubled,  but  could 
not  divine  the  cause,  and  had  long  ago  given  up  any  habit 
of  inquiry.  He  ate  his  dinner  almost  in  silence,  and  then 
said  he  had  to  make  a  call  on  a  friend,  and  that  he  would 
perhaps  drop  in  to  the  club  on  his  way  home,  so  that  she 
Avas  not  to  sit  up  for  him.  She  was  not  surprised  or  hurt 
at  the  announcement.  She  was  accustomed  to  spend  her 
evenings  alone.  She  fetched  down  his  cigar-case,  .put  it  in 
his  overcoat  pocket,  and  brought  him  the  coat.  Then  he 
kissed  her,  and  went  out. 

But  this  evening,  at  least,  she  had  abundant  occupation, 
and  that  of  a  sufficiently  pleasant  kind.  For  some  little 
time  she  had  been  harbouring  in  her  mind  a  dark  and 
mysterious  plot,  and  she  was  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  think 
it  out  and  arrange  its  details.  Mairi  was  coming  to 
London  ;  and  Sheila  had  carefully  concealed  the  fact  from 
her  husband.  A  little  surprise,  of  a  dramatic  sort,  was  to 
be  prepared  for  him ;  with  what  result,  who  could  tell  ? 
All  of  a  sudden  Lavender  was  to  be  precipitated  into  the 
island  of  Lewis,  as  nearly  as  that  could  be  imitated  in  a 
house  at  Netting  Hill. 

This  was  Sheila's  scheme  ;  and  on  these  lonely  evenings 
she  could  sit  by  herself  with  much  satisfaction  and  ponder 
over  the  little  points  of  it  and  its  possible  success.  Mairi 
was  coming  to  London  under  the  escort  of  a  worthy  Glas- 
gow fishmonger  whom  Mr.  Mackenzie  knew.  She  would 
arrive  after  Lavender  had  left  for  his  studio.  Then  she  and 
Sheila  would  set  to  work  to  transform  the  smoking-room, 
that  was  formally  called  a  library,  into  something  resembling 
the  quaint  little  drawing-room  in  Sheila's  home.  Mairi  was 
bringing  up  a  quantity  of  heather  gathered  fresh  from  the 
rocks  beside  the  White  Water ;  she  was  bringing  up  some 
peacocks'  feathers,  too,  for  the  mantelpiece,  and  two  or  three 
big  shells  ;  and,  best  of  all,  she  was  to  put  in  her  trunk  a 
real  and  veritable  lump  of  peat,  well  dried,  and  easy  to 
light.  Then  you  must  know  that  Sheila  had  already 
sketched  out  the  meal  that  was  to  be  placed  on  the  table,  so 
soon  as  the  room  had  been  done  up  in  the  Highland  fashion, 
and  this  peat  lit,  so  as  to  send  its  fragrant  smoke  abroad. 


SHEILAS  STRA  TA  GEM  19? 

A  large  salmon  was  to  make  its  appearance  first  of  all. 
There  would  be  bottles  of  beer  on  the  table  ;  also  one  of 
those  flasks  of  Norwegian  make,  filled  with  whisky.  And 
when  Lavender  went  with  wonder  into  this  small  room, 
Avhen  he  smelt  the  fragrant  peat-smoke — and  everyone 
knows  how  powerful  the  sense  of  smell  is  in  recalling  bygone 
associations — when  he  saw  the  smoking  salmon,  and  the 
bottled  beer,  and  the  whisky — and  when  he  suddenly  found 
Mairi  approaching  him,  and  saying  to  him,  in  her  sweet 
Highland  fashion,  "  And  are  you  ferry  well,  sir  ?  " — would 
not  his  heart  warm  to  the  old  ways  and  kindly  homeliness  of 
the  house  in  Borva,  and  would  not  some  glimpse  of  the 
happy  and  half -forgotten  time,  that  was  now  so  sadly  and 
strangely  remote,  cause  him  to  break  down  that  barrier 
between  himself  and  Sheila  that  this  artificial  life  in  the 
South  had  placed  there  ? 

So  the  child  dreamed,  and  was  happy  in  dreaming.  Some- 
times she  grew  afraid  of  her  project ;  she  had  not  had  much 
experience  in  deception  ;  and  the  mere  concealment  of 
Mairi's  coming  was  a  hard  thing  to  bear.  But  surely  her 
husband  would  take  this  trick  in  good  part.  It  was  only, 
after  all,  a  joke.  To  put  a  little  barbaric  splendour  of 
decoration  into  the  quiet  little  smoking-room  ;  to  have  a 
scent  of  peat-smoke  in  the  air  ;  and  to  have  a  timid,  sweet- 
voiced,  pretty  Highland  girl  suddenly  make  her  appearance, 
with  an  odour  of  the  sea  about  her,  as  it  were,  and  a  look 
of  fresh  breezes  in  the  colour  of  her  cheeks — what  mortal 
man  could  find  fault  with  this  innocent  jest  ?  Sheila's 
moments  of  doubts  were  succeeded  by  long  hours  of  joyous 
confidence,  in  which  a  happy  light  shone  on  her  face.  She 
went  through  the  house  with  a  brisk  step  ;  she  sang  to  her- 
self as  she  went ;  she  was  kinder  than  ever  to  the  small 
children  who  came  into  the  Square  every  morning,  and 
whose  acquaintance  she  had  very  speedily  made  ;  she  gave 
each  of  her  crossing-sweepers  threepence  instead  of  two- 
pence in  passing.  The  servants  had  never  seen  her  in  such 
good  spirits  ;  she  was  exceptionally  generous  in  presenting 
them  with  articles  of  attire  ;  they  might  have  had  half  the 
week  in  holidays  if  Mr.  Lavender  had  not  to  be  attended  to. 
A  small  gentleman  of  three  years  of  age  lived  next  door,  and 
his  acquaintance  also  she  had  made,  by  means  of  his  nurse. 


298  A  PRINCESS  OF  TtfULE 

At  this  time  his  stock  of  toys,  which  Sheila  had  kept  care- 
fully renewed,  became  so  big,  that  he  might,  with  proper 
management,  have  set  up  a  stall  in  the  Lowther  Arcade. 

Just  before  she  left  Lewis,  her  father  had  called  her  to 
him,  and  said — 

"  Sheila,  I  wass  wanting  to  tell  you  about  something.  It 
is  not  everyone  that  will  care  to  hef  his  money  given  away 
to  poor  folk,  and  it  wass  many  a  time  I  said  to  myself  that 
when  you  were  married  maybe  your  husband  would  think 
you  were  giving  too  much  money  to  the  poor  folk,  as  you 
wass  doing  in  Borva.  And  it  iss  this  fifty  pounds  I  hef  got 
for  you,  Sheila,  in  ten  bank-notes,  and  you  will  take  them 
with  you  for  your  own  money,  that  you  will  not  hef  any 
trouble  about  giving  things  to  people.  And  when  the  fifty 
pounds  will  be  done,  I  will  send  you  another  fifty  pounds, 
and  it  will  be  no  difference  to  me  whatever.  And  if  there 
is  anyone  in  Borva  you  would  be  for  sending  money  to, 
there  is  your  own  money ;  for  there  is  many  a  one  who 
would  take  the  money  from  Sheila  Mackenzie  that  would 
not  be  for  taking  it  from  an  English  stranger  in  London. 
And  when  you  will  send  it  to  them,  you  will  send  it  to  me  ; 
and  I  will  tek  it  to  them,  and  I  will  tell  them  that  this 
money  is  from  my  Sheila,  and  from  no  one  else  whatever." 

This  was  all  the  dowry  that  Sheila  carried  with  her  to  the 
South.  Mackenzie  would  willingly  have  given  her  half  his 
money,  if  she  would  have  taken  it,  or  if  her  husband  had 
desired  it ;  but  the  old  king  of  Borva  had  profound  and 
far-reaching  schemes  in  his  head  about  the  small  fortune  he 
might  otherwise  have  accorded  to  his  daughter.  This 
wealth,  such  as  it  was,  was  to  be  a  magnet  to  draw  the 
young  English  gentleman  back  to  the  Hebrides.  It  was  all 
very  well  for  Mr.  Lavender  to  have  plenty  of  money  at 
present ;  he  might  not  always  have  it.  Then  the  time 
would  come  for  Mackenzie  to  say,  "  Look  here,  young  man  ; 
I  can  support  myself  easily  and  comfortably  by  my  farming 
and  fishing.  The  money  I  have  saved  is  at  your  disposal, 
so  long  as  you  consent  to  remain  in  Lewis — in  Stornoway, 
if  you  please — elsewhere,  if  you  please — only  in  Lewis. 
And  while  you  are  painting  pictures,  and  making  as  much 
money  as  you  can  that  way,  you  can  have  plenty  of  fishing, 
and  shooting,  and  amusement ;  and  my  guns  and  boats  and 


SftEtLA*S  STRA  TA  GEM  299 

rods  are  all  at  your  service."     Mr.  Mackenzie  considered 
that  no  man  could  resist  such  an  offer. 

Sheila,  of  course,  told  her  husband  of  the  sum  of  money 
she  owned ;  and  for  a  long  time  it  was  a  standing  joke 
between  them.  He  addressed  her  with  much  respect,  and 
was  careful  to  inform  her  of  the  fluctuations  of  the  money- 
market.  Sometimes  he  borrowed  a  sovereign  of  her  ;  and 
never  without  giving  her  an  I  0  U,  which  was  faithfully 
reclaimed.  But  by  and  by  she  perceived  that  he  grew  less 
and  less  to  like  the  mention  of  this  money.  Perhaps  it 
resembled  too  closely  the  savings  which  the  over-cautious 
folks  about  Borvabost  would  not  intrust  to  a  bank,  but  kept 
hidden  about  their  huts  in  -the  heel  of  a  stocking.  At  all 
events,  Sheila  saw  that  her  husband  did  not  like  her  to  go 
to  this  fund  for  her  charities  ;  and  so  the  fifty  pounds  that 
her  father  had  given  her  lasted  a  long  time.  During  this 
period  of  jubilation,  in  which  she  looked  forward  to  touch- 
ing her  husband's  heart  by  an  innocent  little  stratagem, 
more  frequent  appeals  were  made  to  the  drawer  in  which 
the  treasure  was  locked  up,  so  that  in  the  end  her  private 
dowry  was  reduced  to  thirty  pounds. 

If  Ingram  could  have  but  taken  part  in  this  plan  of  hers  ! 
The  only  regret  that  was  mingled  with  her  anticipations  of 
a  happier  future  concerned  this  faithful  friend  of  hers,  who 
seemed  to  have  been  cut  off  from  them  for  ever.  And  it  soon 
became  apparent  to  her  that  her  husband,  so  far  from 
inclining  to  forget  the  misunderstanding  that  had  arisen 
between  Ingram  and  himself,  seemed  to  feel  increased  re- 
sentment, insomuch  that  she  was  most  careful  to  avoid 
mentioning  his  name. 

She  was  soon  to  meet  him,  however.  Lavender  was 
resolved  that  he  would  not  appear  to  have  retired  from  the 
field,  merely  because  Ingrain  had  entered  it.  He  would  go 
to  this  dinner  on  the  Tuesday  evening,  and  Sheila  would 
accompany  him.  First,  he  asked  her.  Much  as  she  would 
have  preferred  not  visiting  these  particular  people,  she 
cheerfully  acquiesced  ;  she  was  not  going  to  be  churlish  or 
inconsiderate  on  the  very  eve  of  her  dramatic  coup.  Then 
he  went  to  Mrs.  Lorraine,  and  said  he  had  persuaded  Sheila 
to  dine  with  them  ;  and  the  young  American  lady  and  her 
mamma  were  good  enough  to  say  how  glad  they  were  she 


3<x>  A  PRINCESS  Of  THULR 

had  come  to  this  decision.  They  appeared  to  take  it  for 
granted  that  it  was  Sheila  alone  Avho  had  declined  former 
invitations. 

"Mr.  Ingram  will  be  there  on  Tuesday  evening,"  said 
Lavender  to  his  wife. 

"  I  was  not  aware  he  knew  them,"  said  Sheila,  remember- 
ing, indeed,  how  scrupulously  Ingram  had  refused  to  know 
them. 

"  He  has  made  their  acquaintance  for  his  own  purposes, 
doubtless,"  said  Lavender.  "  I  suppose  he  will  appear  in  a 
frock-coat,  with  a  bright  blue  tie,  and  he  will  say  '  Sir  ?  '  to 
the  butler  when  he  does  not  understand  him." 

"  I  thought  you  said  Mr.  Ingram  belonged  to  a  very  good 
family,"  observed  Sheila,  quietly. 

"  That  is  so.  But  each  man  is  responsible  for  his  own 
manners  ;  and  as  all  the  society  Ingram  sees  consists  of  a 
cat  and  some  wooden  pipes,  in  a  couple  of  dingy  rooms  in 
Sloane  Street,  you  can't  expect  him  not  to  make  an  ass  of 
himself." 

"  I  have  never  seen  him  make  himself  ridiculous  :  I  do 
not  think  it  possible,"  said  Sheila,  with  a  certain  precision 
of  speech  which  Lavender  had  got  to  know  meant  much. 
"  But  that  is  a  matter  for  himself.  Perhaps  you  will  tell 
me  what  I  am  to  do  when  I  meet  him  at  Mrs.  Kavanagh's 
house." 

"  Of  course,  you  must  meet  him  as  you  would  anyone  else 
you  know.  If  you  don't  wish  to  speak  to  him,  you  need 
not  do  so.  Saying  '  Good  evening  '  costs  nothing." 

"  If  he  takes  me  in  to  dinner  ?  "  she  asked,  calmly. 

"  Then  you  must  talk  to  him  as  you  would  to  any 
stranger,"  he  said,  impatiently.  "  Ask  him  if  he  has  been 
to  the  opera,  and  he  won't  know  there  is  no  opera  going 
on.  Tell  him  that  town  is  very  full,  and  he  won't  know 
that  everybody  has  left.  Say  you  may  meet  him  again  at 
Mrs.  Kavanagh's,  and  you'll  see  that  he  doesn't  know  they 
mean  to  start  for  the  Tyrol  in  a  fortnight.  I  think  you 
and  I  must  also  be  settling  soon  where  we  mean  to  go.  I 
don't  think  we  could  do  better  than  go  to  the  Tyrol." 

She  did  not  answer.  It  was  clear  that  he  had  given  up 
all  intention  of  going  to  Lewis,  for  that  year  at  least.  But 
she  would  not  beg  him  to  alter  his  decision  just  yet.  Mairi 


SHEILA 'S  STRA  TA  GEM  30! 

was  coining  ;  and  that  experiment  of  the  enchanted  room 
had  still  to  be  tried. 

As  they  drove  round  to  Mrs.  Kavanagh's  house  on  the 
Tuesday  evening,  she  thought,  with  much  bitterness  of 
heart,  of  the  possibility  of  her  having  to  meet  Mr.  Ingram 
in  the  fashion  her  husband  had  suggested.  Would  it  not 
be  better,  if  he  did  take  her  in  to  dinner,  to  throw  herself 
entirely  on  his  mercy,  and  ask  him  not  to  talk  to  her  at  all  ? 
She  would  address  herself,  when  there  was  a  chance,  to  her 
neighbour  on  the  other  side  :  if  she  remained  silent  alto- 
gether, no  great  harm  would  be  done. 

When  she  went  into  the  drawing-room,  her  first  glance 
round  was  for  him,  and  he  was  the  first  person  whom  she 
saw.  For,  instead  of  withdrawing  into  a  corner  to  make 
one  neighbour  the  victim  of  his  shyness,  or  concealing  his 
embarrassment  in  studying  the  photographic  albums,  Mr. 
Ingram  was  coolly  standing  on  the  hearthrug,  with  both 
hands  in  his  trousers'  pockets,  while  he  was  engaged  in 
giving  the  American  Judge  a  great  deal  of  authoritative 
information  about  America.  The  Judge  was  a  tall,  fair, 
stout,  good-natured  man,  fond  of  joking  and  a  good  dinner  ; 
and  he  was  content  at  this  moment  to  sit  quietly  in  an  easy- 
chair,  with  a  pleasant  smile  on  his  face,  and  be  lectured 
about  his  own  country  by  this  sallow  little  man,  whom  he 
took  to  be  a  Professor  of  Modern  History  at  some  University 
or  other. 

Ingram,  as  soon  as  he  found  that  Sheila  was  in  the  room, 
relieved  her  from  any  doubt  as  to  his  intentions.  He 
merely  came  forward,  shook  hands  with  her,  said,  "  How 
do  you  do,  Mrs.  Lavender  ?  "  and  went  back  to  the  Judge. 
She  might  have  been  an  acquaintance  of  yesterday,  or  a 
friend  of  twenty  years'  standing  :  no  one  could  tell  by  his 
manner.  As  for  Sheila,  she  parted  with  his  hand  reluctantly. 
She  tried  to  look,  too,  what  she  dared  not  say  ;  but  what- 
ever of  regret,  and  kindness,  and  assurance  of  friendship 
was  in  her  eyes,  he  did  not  see.  He  scarcely  glanced  at  her 
face  ;  he  went  off  at  once,  and  plunged  again  into  the 
Cincinnati  Convention. 

Mrs.  Kavanagh  and  Mrs.  Lorraine  were  exceedingly  and 
almost  obtrusively  kind  to  her  ;  but  she  scarcely  heard  what 
they  said  to  her.  It  was  so  strange  and  so  sad  to  her  that 


302  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

her  old  friend  should  be  standing  near  her,  and  she  so  far 
removed  from  him  that  she  dared  not  go  and  speak  to  him. 
She  could  not  understand  it :  at  times  everything  around 
her  seemed  to  get  confused,  until  she  felt  as  if  she  were 
sinking  in  a  great  sea,  and  could  utter  but  one  despairing 
cry  as  she  beheld  the  light  disappear  above  her  head. 
When  they  went  in  to  dinner,  she  saw  that  Mr.  Ingram's 
seat  was  on  Mrs.  Lorraine's  right  hand  ;  and  although  she 
could  hear  him  speak,  as  he  was  almost  right  opposite  to 
her,  it  seemed  to  her  that  his  voice  sounded  as  if  it  were 
far  away.  The  man  who  had  taken  her  in  was  a  tall, 
brown-whiskered,  and  faultlessly-dressed  person  who  was 
silent ;  so  that  she  was  allowed  to  sit  and  listen  to  the 
conversation  between  Mrs.  Lorraine  and  Ingram.  They 
appeared  to  be  on  excellent  terms.  You  would  have  fancied 
they  had  known  each  other  for  years.  And  as  Sheila  sat 
and  saw  how  preoccupied  and  pleased  with  his  companion 
Mr.  Ingram  was,  perhaps  now  and  again  the  bitter  question 
arose  to  her  mind,  whether  this  woman,  who  had  taken 
away  her  husband,  was  seeking  to  take  away  her  friend 
also.  Sheila  knew  nothing  of  all  that  had  happened  within 
these  past  few  days.  She  knew  only  that  she  was  alone — 
without  either  husband  or  friend  ;  and  it  seemed  to  her 
that  this  pale  American  girl  had  taken  both  away  from  her. 
Ingram  was  in  one  of  his  happiest  moods,  and  was  seeking 
to  prove  to  Mrs.  Lorraine  that  this  present  dinner-party 
ought  to  be  an  especially  pleasant  one.  Everybody  was 
going  away  somewhere  ;  and,  of  course,  she  must  know  that 
the  expectation  of  travelling  was  much  more  delightful  than 
the  reality  of  it.  What  could  surpass  the  sense  of  freedom, 
of  power,  of  hope  enjoyed  by  the  happy  folks  who  sat  down 
to  an  open  atlas,  and  began  to  sketch  out  routes  for  their 
coming  holidays  ?  Where  was  he  going  ?  Oh,  he  was 
going  to  the  North.  Had  Mrs.  Lorraine  never  seen  Edin- 
burgh Castle  rising  out  of  a  white  fog,  like  the  ghost  of 
some  great  building  belonging  to  the  times  of  Arthurian 
romance  ?  Had  she  never  seen  the  northern  twilights,  and 
the  awful  gloom  and  wild  colours  of  Loch  Coruisk  and  the 
Skye  hills  ?  There  was  no  holiday-making  so  healthy,  so 
free  from  restraint,  as  that  among  the  far  Highland  hills 
and  glens,  where  the  clear  mountain  air,  scented  with  miles 


SHEILAS  S  TRA  TA  GEM  303 

and  miles  of  heather,  seemed  to  produce  a  sort  of  intoxica- 
tion of  good  spirits  within  one.  Then  the  yachting  round 
the  wonderful  islands  of  the  West — the  rapid  runs  of  a 
bright  morning,  the  shooting  of  the  wild  duck,  the  scrambled 
dinners  in  the  saloon,  the  still  nights  in  the  small  harbours, 
with  a  scent  of  sea-weed  abroad,  and  the  white  sta.rs  shining 
down  on  the  trembling  water.  Yes,  he  was  going  yachting 
this  autumn — in  about  a  fortnight  he  hoped  to  start.  His 
friend  was  at  present  away  up  Loch  Boisdale,  in  South  Uist, 
and  he  did  not  know  how  to  get  there  except  by  going  to 
Skye,  and  taking  his  chance  of  some  boat  going  over. 
Where  would  they  go  then  ?  He  did  not  know.  Where- 
ever  his  friend  liked.  It  would  be  enough  for  him  if  they 
kept  moving  about,  seeing  the  strange  sights  of  the  sea,  and 
the  air,  and  the  lonely  shores  of  those  northern  islands. 
Perhaps  they  might  even  try  to  reach  St.  Kilda 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Ingram,  won't  you  go  and  see  my  papa  ?  " 

The  cry  that  suddenly  reached  him  was  like  the  cry  of  a 
broken  heart.  He  started  as  from  a  trance,  and  found 
Sheila  regarding  him  with  a  piteous  appeal  in  her  face  ;  she 
had  been  listening  intently  to  all  he  had  said. 

"  Oh,  yes,  Sheila,"  he  said,  kindly,  and  quite  forgetting 
that  he  was  speaking  to  her  before  strangers  ;  "  of  course  I 
must  go  and  see  your  papa,  if  we  are  any  way  near  the 
Lewis.  Perhaps  you  may  be  there  then  ?*" 

"  No,"  said  Sheila,  looking  down. 

••  Won't  you  go  to  the  Highlands  this  autumn  ?  "  Mrs. 
Lorraine  asked,  in  a  friendly  way. 

"  Xo,"  said  Sheila,  in  a  measured  voice,  as  she  looked  her 
enemy  fair  in  the  face  ;  "  I  think  we  are  going  to  the 
Tyrol." 

If  the  child  had  only  known  what  occurred  to  Mrs. 
Lorraine's  mind  at  this  moment !  Xot  a  triumphant  sense 
of  Lavender's  infatuation,  as  Sheila  probably  fancied  ;  but 
a  very  definite  resolution  that,  if  Frank  Lavender  went 
to  the  Tyrol,  it  was  not  with  either  her  or  her  mother  he 
should  go. 

"  Mrs.  Lavender's  father  is  an  old  friend  of  mine,"  said 
Ingram,  loud  enough  for  all  to  hear ;  "  and  hospitable  as 
all  Highlanders  are,  I  have  never  met  his  equal  in  that  way, 
and  I  have  tried  his  patience  a  good  many  times.  What 


304  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

do  you  think,  Mrs.  Lorraine,  of  a  man  who  would  give  up 
his  best  gun  to  you,  even  though  you  couldn't  shoot  a  bit, 
and  he  particularly  proud  of  his  shooting  ?  And  so,  if  you 
lived  with  him  for  a  month  or  six  months — each  day  the 
best  of  everything  for  you,  the  second  best  for  your  friend, 
the  worst  for  himself.  Wasn't  it  so,  Lavender  ?  " 

It  was  a  direct  challenge  sent  across  the  table ;  and 
Sheila's  heart  beat  quick  lest  her  husband  should  say  some- 
thing ungracious. 

"Yes,  certainly,"  said  Lavender,  with  a  readiness  that 
pleased  Sheila  ;  "  I  at  least  have  no  right  to  complain  of 
his  hospitality." 

"Your  papa  is  a  very  handsome  man,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine 
to  Sheila,  bringing  the  conversation  back  to  their  own  end 
of  the  table.  "  I  have  seen  few  finer  heads  than  that  draw- 
ing you  have.  Mr.  Lavender  did  that,  did  he  not  ?  Why 
has  he  never  done  one  of  you  ?  " 

"  He  is  too  busy,  I  think,  just  now,"  Sheila  said  ;  perhaps 
not  knowing  that  from  Mrs.  Lorraine's  waist-belt  at  that 
moment  depended  a  fan  which  might  have  given  evidence 
as  to  the  extreme  scarcity  of  time  under  which  Lavender 
was  supposed  to  labour. 

"  He  has  a  splendid  head,"  said  Ingram.  "  Did  you  know 
that  he  is  called  the  King  of  Borva  up  there  ?  " 

"  1  have  heard'  of  him  being  called  the  King  of  Thule," 
said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  turning  with  a  smile  to  Sheila  ;  "  and 
of  his  daughter  being  styled  a  Princess.  Do  you  know  the 
ballad  of  the  King  of  Thule  in  '  Faust,'  Mrs.  Lavender  ?  " 

"  In  the  opera  ? — yes,"  said  Sheila. 

"  Will  you  sing  it  for  us  after  dinner  ?  " 

"  If  you  like." 

The  promise  was  fulfilled  in  a  fashion.  The  notion  that 
Mr.  Ingram  was  about  to  go  away  up  to  Lewis,  to  the  people 
who  knew  her,  and  to  her  father's  house,  with  no  possible 
answer  to  the  questions  which  would  certainly  be  showered 
upon  him  as  to  why  she  had  not  come  also,  troubled  Sheila 
deeply.  The  ladies  went  into  the  drawing-room,  and  Mrs. 
Lorraine  got  out  the  song.  Sheila  sat  down  to  the  piano, 
thinking  far  more  of  that  small  stone  house  at  Borva  than  of 
the  King  of  Thule's  castle  overlooking  the  sea  ;  and  yet 
somehow  the  first  lines  of  the  ballad,  though  sho  knew  them 


SHEILAS  STRA  TA  GEM  305 

well  enough,  sent  a  pang  to  her  heart  as  she  glanced  at  them. 
She  touched  the  introductoiy  notes  of  the  accompaniment, 
and  she  looked  at  the  words  again. 

"Over  the  sea  in  Thule  of  old 
Keigned  a  King  who  was  true  hearted, 
Who  in  remembrance  of  one  departed — " 

A  inist  came  over  her  eyes.  Was  she  the  one  who  had  de- 
parted,, leaving  the  old  king  in  his  desolate  house  by  the  sea, 
where  he  could  only  think  of  her  as  he  sat  in  his  solitary 
chamber,  with  the  night  winds  howling  round  the  shore  out- 
side ?  When  her  birthday  had  come  round,  she  knew  that 
he  must  have  silently  drunk  to  her,  though  not  out  of  a 
beaker  of  gold.  And  now,  when  mere  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances were  free  to  speed  away  to  the  North,  and  get  a  wel- 
come from  the  folks  in  Borva,  and  listen  to  the  Atlantic 
waves  dashing  lightly  in  among  the  rocks,  her  hope  of  getting 
thither  had  almost  died  out.  Among  such  people  as  lauded 
on  Stornoway  quay  from  the  big  Clansman,  her  father  would 
seek  one  face,  and  seek  it  in  vain.  And  Duncan,  and  Scar- 
lett, and  even  John  the  Piper — all  the  well-remembered  folks 
who  lived  far  away  across  the  Minch — they  would  ask  why 
Miss  Sheila  was  never  coming  back.  Mrs.  Lorraine  had 
been  standing  aside  from  the  piano.  Noticing  that  Sheila 
had  played  the  introduction  to  the  song  twice  over,  in  an 
undetermined  manner,  she  came  forward  a  step  or  two,  and 
pretended  to  be  looking  at  the  music.  Tears  were  running 
down  Sheila's  face.  Mrs.  Lorraine  put  her  hand  on  the  girl's 
shoulder,  and  sheltered  her  from  observation,  and  said 
aloud — • 

"  You  have  it  in  a  different  key,  have  you  not  ?  Pray 
don't  sing  it.  Sing  something  else.  Do  you  know  any  of 
Gounod's  sacred  songs  ?  Let  me  see  if  we  can  find  any- 
thing for  you  in  this  volume." 

They  were  a  long  time  finding  anything  in  that  volume. 
When  they  did  find  it,  behold  !  it  was  one  of  Mrs.  Lorraine's 
songs,  and  that  young  lady  said,  if  Mrs.  Lavender  would 
only  allow  herself  to  be  superseded  for  a  few  minutes — . — 
And  so  Sheila  walked,  with  her  head  down,  to  the  conserva- 
tory, which  was  at  the  other  end  of  the  piarib ;  and  Mrs. 

x 


3o6  A  PRINCESS  OF  TtiULE 

Lorraine  not  only  sung  this  French  song,  but  sang  every 
one  of  the  verses  ;  and  at  the  end  of  it  she  had  quite  for- 
gotten that  Sheila  had  promised  to  sing. 

"  You  are  very  sensitive,"  she  said  to  Sheila,  coming  into 
the  conservatory. 

"  I  am  very  stupid,"  Sheila  said,  with  her  face  burning. 
"  But  it  is  a  long  time  since  I  have  seen  the  Highlands — 
and  Mr.  Ingram  was  talking  of  the  places  I  know — and — 
and  so " 

"  I  understand  well  enough,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  ten- 
derly, as  if  Sheila  were  a  mere  child  in  her  hands.  "  But 
you  must  not  get  your  eyes  red.  You  have  to  sing  some  of 
those  Highland  songs  for  us  yet,  when  the  gentlemen  appear. 
Come  up  to  my  room,  and  I  will  make  your  eyes  all  right. 
Oh,  do  not  be  afraid  !  I  shall  not  bring  you  down  like  Lady 
Leveret.  Did  you  ever  see  anything  like  that  woman's 
face  to-night  ?  It  reminds  me  of  the  window  of  an  oil-and- 
colour  shop  :  I  wonder  she  does  not  catch  flies  with  her 
cheeks." 

So  all  the  people,  Sheila  learned  that  night,  were  going 
away  from  London ;  and  soon  she  and  her  husband  would 
join  in  the  general  stampede  of  the  very  last  dwellers  in  town. 
But  Mairi  ?  What  was  to  become  of  her  after  that  little 
plot  had  been  played  out !  Sheila  could  not  leave  Mairi 
to  see  London  by  herself  ;  she  had  been  enjoying  before- 
hand the  delight  of  taking  the  young  girl  about,  and 
Watching  the  wonder  of  her  eyes.  Nor  could  she  fairly 
postpone  Mairi's  visit ;  and  Mairi  was  coming  up  in  another 
couple  of  days. 

On  the  morning  on  which  the  visitor  from  the  far  Hebrides 
was  to  make  her  appearance  in  London,  Sheila  felt  conscious 
of  a  great  hypocrisy  in  bidding  good-bye  to  her  husband. 
On  some  excuse  or  other,  she  had  had  breakfast  ordered 
early ;  and  he  found  himself  ready  at  half-past  nine  to  go 
out  fof  the  day. 

"  Frank,"  she  said,  "  will  you  come  in  to  lunch  at  two  ?  " 

"  Why  ?  "  he  asked  ;  he  did  not  often  have  luncheon  at 
home. 

"  I  will  go  into  the  Park  with  you  in  the  afternoon,  if  you 
like,"  she  said  :  all  the  scene  had  been  diligently  rehearsed, 
on  one  side,  before. 


SHEILAS  STRATAGEM  307 

Lavender  was  a  little  surprised,  but  he  was  in  an  amiable 
inood. 

"  All  right,"  he  said.  "  Have  something  with  olives  in  it. 
Two  sharp." 

Thereupon  he  went  out ;  and  Sheila,  with  a  wild  commo- 
tion at  her  heart,  saw  him  walk  away  through  the  Square. 
She  was  afraid  Mairi  might  have  arrived  before  he  left. 
And,  indeed,  he  had  not  gone  above  a  few  minutes  when  a 
four-wheeler  drove  up,  and  an  elderly  man  got  out  and  waited 
for  the  timid-faced  girl  inside  to  alight.  With  a  rush  like 
that  of  a  startled  deer,  Sheila  was  down  the  stairs,  along  the 
hall  and  on  the  pavement ;  and  it  was,  "  Oh,  Mairi  !  and 
have  you  come  at  last  ?  And  are  you  very  well  ?  And  how 
are  all  the  people  in  Borva  ?  And,  Mr.  M' Alpine,  how  are 
you,  and  will  you  come  into  the  house  ?  " 

Certainly,  that  was  a  strange  sight  for  a  decorous  London 
square  ;  the  mistress  of  a  house,  a  young  girl  with  bare 
head,  coming  out  on  the  pavement  to  shake  hands  in  a  frantic 
fashion  with  a  young  maid-servant  and  an  elderly  man  whose 
clothes  had  been  pretty  well  tanned  by  sunlight  and  sea- 
water.  And  Sheila  would  herself  help  to  carry  Mairi's 
luggage  in.  And  she  would  take  no  denial  from  Mr. 
M' Alpine,  whose  luggage  was  also  carried  in.  And  she 
would  herself  pay  the  cabman,  as  strangers  did  not  know 
about  these  things :  Sheila's  knowledge  being  exhibited 
by  her  hastily  giving  the  man  live  shillings  for  driving 
from  Euston  Station.  And  there  was  breakfast  waiting 
for  them  both,  as  soon  as  Mairi  could  get  her  face  washed  ; 
and  would  Mr.  M'Alpine  have  a  glass  of  whisky  after  the 
night's  travelling  ? — and  it  was  very  good  whisky  indeed, 
as  it  had  come  all  the  way  from  Stornoway.  Mr.  M'Alpine 
was  nothing  loth. 

"  And  wass  you  pretty  well,  Miss  Sheila  ?  "  said  Mairi, 
looking  timidly  and  hastily  up,  and  forgetting  altogether  that 
Sheila  had  another  name  UOAV.  "  It  will  be  a  great  thing 
for  me  to  go  back  to  sa  Lewis,  and  tell  them  I  wass  seeing 
you,  and  you  wass  looking  so  well.  And  I  will  be  thinking  I 
wass  neffer  coming  to  anyone  I  kncAv  any  more  !  And  it  is 
a  great  fright  I  hef  had  since  we  came  away  from  sa  Lewis  ; 
and  I  wass  thinking  we  would  neffer  find  you  among  all  sa 

people  and  so  far  away  across  sa  sea  and  sa  land.     Eh " 

x  2 


3o8  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

The  girl  stopped  in  astonishment.  Her  eyes  had  wandered 
up  to  a  portrait  on  the  walls  ;  and  here,  in  this  very  room, 
after  she  had  travelled  over  all  this  great  distance,  apparently 
leaving  behind  her  everything  but  the  memory  of  her  home, 
was  Mr.  Mackenzie  himself,  looking  at  her  from  under  his 
shaggy  eyebrows. 

"  You  must  have  seen  that  picture  in  Borva,  Mairi,"  Sheila 
said.  "  Now  come  with  me,  like  a  good  girl,  and  get  your- 
self ready  for  breakfast.  Do  you  know,  Mairi,  it  does  my 
heart  good  to  hear  you  talk  again  !  I  don't  think  I  shall 
be  able  to  let  you  go  back  to  the  Lewis." 

"  But  you  hef  changed  ferry  much  in  your  way  of 
speaking.  Miss — Mrs.  Lavender,"  said  Mairi,  with  an  effort. 
"  You  will  speak  just  like  sa  English  now." 

"  The  English  don't  say  so,"  replied  Sheila,  with  a  smile, 
leading  the  way  up  stairs. 

Mr.  M'Alpine  had  his  business  to  attend  to  ;  but,  being  a 
sensible  man,  he  took  advantage  of  the  profuse  breakfast 
placed  before  him.  Mairi  was  a  little  too  frightened,  and 
nervous,  and  happy  to  eat  much  ;  but  Mr.  M'Alpine  was  an 
old  traveller,  not  to  be  put  out  by  the  mere  meeting  of  two 
girls.  He  listened  in  a  grave  and  complacent  manner  to  the 
rapid  questions  and  answers  of  Mairi  and  her  hostess  ;  but 
he  himself  was  too  busy  to  join  in  the  conversation  much. 
At  the  end  of  breakfast,  he  accepted,  after  a  little  pressing, 
half  a  glass  of  whisky  ;  and  then,  much  comforted,  and  in  a 
thoroughly  good  humour  with  himself  and  the  world,  got 
his  luggage  out  again  and  went  on  his  way  .towards  a  certain 
inn  in  High  Holborn. 

"  Ay,  and  where  does  the  Queen  live,  Miss  Sheila  ?  "  said 
Mairi.  She  had  been  looking  at  the  furniture  in  Sheila's 
house,  and  wondering  if  the  Queen  lived  in  a  place  still 
more  beautiful  than  this. 

"  A  long  way  from  here." 

"  And  it  iss  no  wonder,"  said  Mairi,  "  she  will  neffer  hef 
been  in  sa  Lewis.  I  wass  neffer  thinking  the  Avorld  wass  so 
big  ;  and  it  wass  many  a  time  since  me  and  Mr.  M'Alpine 
hef  come  away  from  Styornoway  I  wass  thinking  it  Avass  too 
far  for  me  effer  to  get  back  again.  But  it  is  many  a  one 
will  say  to  me,  before  I  hef  left  the  Lewis,  that  I  wass  not  to 
come  home  unless  you  wass  coming  too,  and  I  wass  to  bring 


SHEILA 'S  S  TRA  TA  GEM  3°9 

you  back  with  me,  Miss  Sheila.  And  where  is  Bras,  Miss 
Sheila  ? " 

"  You  will  see  him  by  and  by.  He  is  out  in  the  garden 
now."  She  said  '  gyarden  '  without  knowing  it. 

"  And  will  he  understood  the  Gaelic  yet  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes,"  Sheila  said  ;  "  and  he  is  sure  to  remember 
you." 

There  was  no  mistake  about  that.  When  Mairi  went 
into  the  back-garden,  the  demonstrations  of  delight  on  the 
part  of  the  great  deerhound  were  as  pronounced  as  his 
dignity  and  gravity  would  allow.  And  Mairi  fairly  fell 
upon  his  neck  and  kissed  him,  and  addressed  to  him  a 
hundred  endearing  phrases  in  Gaelic,  every  word  of  which 
it  was  quite  obvious  that  Bras  understood.  London  was 
already  beginning  to  be  less  terrible  to  her.  She  had  met 
and  talked  with  Sheila.  Here  was  Bras.  A  portrait  of  the 
King  of  Borva  was  hung  up  inside,  and  all  round  the  rooms 
were  articles  which  she  had  known  in  the  North,  before  Miss 
Sheila  had  married  and  brought  them  away  into  this  strange 
land. 

"  You  have  never  asked  after  my  husband,  Mairi,"  said 
Sheila,  thinking  she  would  confuse  the  girl. 

But  Mairi  was  not  confused.  Probably  she  had  been 
fancying  that  Mr.  Lavender  was  down  at  the  shore,  or  had 
gone  out  fishing,  or  something  of  that  sort,  and  would  return 
soon  enough.  It  was  Sheila,  not  he,  whom  she  was  con- 
cerned about.  Indeed,  Mairi  had  caught  up  a  little  of  that 
jealousy  of  Lavender  which  was  rife  among  the  Borva  folks. 
They  would  speak  no  ill  of  Mr.  Lavender.  The  young 
gentleman  whom  Miss  Sheila  had  chosen  had  by  that  very 
fact  a  claim  upon  their  respect.  Mr.  Mackenzie's  son-in-law 
was  a  person  of  importance.  And  yet,  in  their  secret  hearts, 
they  bore  a  grudge  against  him.  What  right  had  he  to 
come  away  up  to  the  North  and  carry  off  the  very  pride  of 
the  island  ?  Were  English  girls  not  good  enough  for  him 
that  he  must  needs  come  up  and  take  away  Sheila  Mackenzie, 
and  keep  her  there  in  the  South  so  that  her  friends  and 
acquaintances  saw  no  more  of  her  ?  Before  the  marriage, 
Mairi  had  a  great  liking  and  admiration  for  Mr.  Lavender. 
She  was  so  pleased  to  see  Miss  Sheila  pleased,  that  she 
approved  of  the  young  man,  and  thanked  him  in  her  heart 


3io  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

for  making  her  cousin  and  mistress  so  obviously  happy. 
Perhaps,  indeed,  Mairi  managed  to  fall  in  love  with  him  a 
little  bit  herself,  merely  by  force  of  example  and  through 
sympathy  with  Sheila  ;  and  she  was  rapidly  forming  very 
good  opinions  of  the  English  race,  and  their  ways,  and  their 
looks.  But  Avhen  Lavender  took  away  Sheila  from  Borva, 
a  change  came  over  Mairi's  sentiments.  She  gradually  fell 
in  with  the  current  opinion  of  the  island — that  it  was  a 
great  pity  Sheila  had  not  married  young  Mr.  Maclntyre,  of 
Sutherland,  or  some  one  who  would  have  allowed  her  to 
remain  among  her  own  people.  Mairi  began  to  think  that 
the  English,  though  they  were  handsome,  and  good-natured, 
and  free  with  their  money,  were  on  the  whole  a  selfish  race, 
inconsiderate,  and  forgetful  of  promises.  She  began  to 
dislike  the  English,  and  wished  they  would  stay  in  their 
own  country,  and  not  interfere  with  other  people. 

"  I  hope  he  is  ferry  well,"  said  Mairi,  dutifully  :  she  could 
at  least  say  that  honestly. 

"  You  will  see  him  at  two  o'clock.  He  is  coming  in  to 
luncheon  ;  and  he  does  not  know  you  are  here  ;  and  you  are 
to  be  a  great  surprise  to  him,  Mairi.  And  there  is  to  be  a 
greater  surprise  still ;  for  we  are  going  to  make  one  of  the 
rooms  into  the  drawing-room  at  home  ;  and  you  must  open 
your  boxes,  and  bring  me  down  the  heather  and  the  peat, 
Mairi,  and  the  two  bottles  ;  and  then,  you  know,  when  the 
salmon  is  on  the  table,  and  the  whisky,  and  the  beer,  and 
Bras  lying  on  the  hearthrug,  and  the  peat-smoke  all  through 
the  room,  then  you  will  come  in  and  shake  hands  with  him, 
and  he  will  think  he  is  in  Borva  again." 

Mairi  was  a  little  puzzled.  She  did  not  understand  the 
intention  of  this  strange  thing.  But  she  went  and  fetched 
the  materials  she  had  brought  with  her  from  Lewis,  and 
Sheila  and  Mairi  set  to  work. 

It  was  a  pleasant  enough  occupation  for  this  bright 
morning,  and  Sheila,  as  she  heard  Mairi's  sweet  Highland 
speech,  and  as  she  brought  from  all  parts  of  the  house  the 
curiosities  sent  her  from  the  Hebrides,  would  almost  have 
fancied  she  was  superintending  a  "  cleaning "  of  that 
museum-like  little  drawing-room  at  Borva.  Skins  of  foxes, 
seals,  and  deer,  stuffed  eagles  and  strange  fishes,  masses  of 
coral  and  wonderful  carvings  in  wood  brought  from  abroad, 


SHEILA'S  STRA  TA GEM  31 1 

shells  of  every  size  from  every  clime — all  these  were  brought 
together  into  Frank  Lavender's  smoking-room.  The  ordinary 
ornaments  of  the  mantelpiece  gave  way  to  fanciful  arrange- 
ments of  peacocks'  feathers.  Fresh-blown  ling  and  the 
beautiful  spikes  of  the  bell-heather  formed  the  staple  of  the 
decorations,  and  Mairi  had  brought  enough  to  adorn  an 
assembly-room. 

"That  is  like  the  Lewis  people,"  Sheila  said,  with  a 
laugh — she  had  not  been  in  as  happy  a  mood  for  many  a 
day.  "  I  asked  you  to  bring  one  peat,  and  of  course  you 
brought  two.  Tell  the  truth,  Mairi  ;  could  you  have  forced 
yourself  to  bring  one  peat  ?  " 

"  I  wass  thinking  it  was  safer  to  bring  sa  two,"  replied 
Mairi,  blushing  all  over  the  fair  and  pretty  face. 

And,  indeed,  there  being  two  peats,  Sheila  thought  she 
might  as  well  try  an  experiment  with  one.  She  crumbled 
down  some  pieces,  put  them  on  a  plate,  lit  them,  and  placed 
the  plate  outside  the  open  window,  on  the  sill.  Presently  a 
new,  sweet,  half -forgotten  fragrance  came  floating  in ;  and 
Sheila  almost  forgot  the  success  of  the  experiment  in  the 
half-delighted,  half -sad  reminiscences  caUed  up  by  the  scent 
of  the  peat.  Mairi  failed  to  see  how  anyone  could  wilfully 
smoke  a  house — anyone,  that  is  to  say,  who  did  not  save  the 
smoke  for  his  thatch.  And  who  was  so  particular  as  Sheila 
had  been  about  having  the  clothes  come  in  from  the  washing 
dried,  so  that  they  should  not  retain  this  very  odour  that 
seemed  now  to  delight  her  ? 

At  last  the  room  was  finished,  and  Sheila  contemplated  it 
with  much  satisfaction.  The  table  was  laid,  and  on  the 
white  cloth  stood  the  bottles  most  familiar  to  Borva.  The 
peat-smoke  still  lingered  in  the  air  ;  she  could  not  have 
wished  anything  to  be  better. 

Then  she  went  off  to  look  after  luncheon,  and  Mairi  was 
permitted  to  go  down  and  explore  the  mysteries  of  the 
kitchen.  The  servants  were  not  accustomed  to  this  inter- 
ference and  oversight,  and  might  have  resented  it,  only  that 
Sheila  had  proved  a  very  good  mistress  to  them,  and  had 
shown,  too,  that  she  would  have  her  own  way  when  she 
wanted  it.  Suddenly,  as  Sheila  was  explaining  to  Mairi  the 
use  of  some  particular  piece  of  mechanism,  she  heard  a  sound 
that  made  her  heart  jump.  It  was  now  but  half-past  one  :  and 


312  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

yet  that  was  surely  her  husband's  foot  in  the  hall.  For  a 
moment  she  was  too  bewildered  to  knoAV  what  to  do.  She 
heard  him  go  straight  into  the  very  room  she  had  been 
decorating,  the  door  of  which  she  had  left  open.  Then,  as 
she  went  upstairs,  with  her  heart  still  beating  fast,  the  first 
thing  that  met  her  eye  was  a  tartan  shawl  belonging  to 
Mairi  that  had  been  accidentally  left  in  the  passage.  Her 
husband  must  have  seen  it. 

"  Sheila,  what  nonsense  is  this  ?  "  he  said. 

He  was  evidently  in  a  hurry  ;  and  yet  she  could  not 
answer,  her  heart  was  throbbing  too  quickly. 

"  Look  here,"  he  said,  "  I  wish  you'd  give  up  this  grotto- 
making  till  to-morrow.  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  Mrs.  Lorraine, 
and  Lord  Arthur  Wemyss  are  coining  in  to  luncheon  at 
two.  I  suppose  you  can  get  something  decent  for  them. 
What  is  the  matter  ?  What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?  " 

And  then  his  eye  rested  on  the  tartan  shawl,  which  he 
had  really  not  noticed  before. 

"  Who  is  in  the  house  ?  "  he  said  ;  "  have  you  asked 
some  washerwoman  to  lunch  ?  " 

Sheila  managed  at  last  to  say — 

"  It  is  Mairi  come  from  Stornoway.  I  was  thinking  you 
would  be  surprised  to  see  her  when  you  came  in — 

"  And  these  preparations  are  for  her  !  " 

Sheila  said  nothing  :  there  was  that  in  the  tone  of  her 
husband's  voice  which  was  gradually  bringing  her  to  herself, 
and  giving  her  quite  sufficient  firmness. 

"  And  now  that  this  girl  has  come  up,  I  suppose  you 
mean  to  introduce  her  to  all  your  friends  ;  and  I  suppose 
you  expect  those  people  who  are  coming  in  half  an  hour  to 
sit  down  at  table  with  a  kitchen-maid  ?  " 

"  Mairi,"  said  Sheila,  standing  quite  erect,  but  with  her 
eyes  cast  down,  "  is  my  cousin." 

"  Your  cousin  !  Don't  be  ridiculous,  Sheila.  You  know 
very  well  that  Mairi  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  scullery- 
rnaid ;  and  I  suppose  you  mean  to  take  her  out  of  the 
kitchen,  and  introduce  her  to  people,  and  expect  them  to  sit 
down' at  table  with  her.  Is  not  that  so  ?  " 

She  did  not  answer,  and  he  went  on,  impatiently,  "  Why 
was  I  not  told  that  this  girl  was  coming  to  stay  at  my 
JiQUse  ?  Surely  I  haye  some  right  to  know  what  guests  you 


SHEILA 'S  S  TRA  TA  GEM  3 1 3 

invite,  that  I  may  be  able  at  least  to  ask  my  friends  not  to 
come  near  the  place  while  they  are  in  it." 

"That  I  did  not  tell  you  before — yes,  that  was  a  pity," 
said  Sheila,  sadly  and  calmly.  "  But  it  will  be  no  trouble 
to  you.  When  Mrs.  Lorraine  comes  up  at  two  o'clock,  there 
will  be  luncheon  for  her  and  for  her  friends.  She  will  not 
have  to  sit  down  with  any  of  my  relations,  or  Avith  me  ;  for 
if  they  are  not  fit  to  meet  her,  neither  am  I ;  and  it  is  not 
any  great  matter  that  I  shall  not  meet  her  at  two  o'clock." 

There  was  no  passion  of  any  sort  in  the  measured  and 
sad  voice,  nor  in  the  somewhat  pale  face  and  downcast  eyes. 
Perhaps  it  was  this  composure  that  deceived  Frank 
Lavender  ;  at  all  events,  he  turned  and  walked  out  of  the 
house,  satisfied  that  he  would  not  have  to  introduce  his 
Highland  cousin  to  his  friends,  and  just  as  certain  that 
Sheila  would  repent  of  her  resolve,  and  appear  in  the 
dining-room  as  usual. 

Sheila  went  downstairs  to  the  kitchen,  where  Mairi  still 
stood  awaiting  her.  She  gave  orders  to  one  of  the  servants 
about  having  luncheon  laid  in  the  dining-room  at  two,  and 
then  she  bade  Mairi  follow  her  up  stairs. 

"  Mairi,"  she  said,  when  they  were  alone,  "  I  want  you  to 
put  your  things  in  your  trunk  at  once — in  five  minutes  if 
you  can — I  shall  be  waiting  for  you." 

"  .\I  iss  Sheila  !  "  cried  the  girl,  looking  up  to  her  friend's 
face  with  a  sudden  fright  seizing  her  heart.  "  What  is  the 
matter  with  you  ?  Oh,  are  you  so  ill  !  " 

"  There  is  nothing  the  matter,  Mairi.     I  am  going  away." 

She  uttered  the  words  placidly  ;  but  there  was  a  pained 
look  about  the  lips  that  could  not  be  concealed ;  and  her 
face,  unknown  to  herself,  had  the  whiteness  of  despair  in 
it. 

"  Going  away  !  "  said  Mairi,  in  bewilderment.  "  Where 
are  you  going,  Miss  Sheila  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  you  by  and  by.  Get  your  trunk  ready,  Mairi. 
You  are  keeping  me  waiting." 

Then  she  called  for  a  servant,  who  was  sent  for  a  cab  ; 
and  by  the  time  the  vehicle  appeared,  Mairi  was  ready  to 
get  into  it,  and  her  trunk  was  put  on  the  top.  Then,  clad 
in  the  rough  blue  dress  that  she  used  to  wear  in  Borva,  and 
with  no  appearance  of  haste  or  fear  in  the  calm  and  death- 


314  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

like  face,  Sheila  came  out  from  her  husband's  house,  and 
found  herself  alone  in  the  world.  There  were  two  little 
girls,  the  daughters  of  a  neighbour,  passing  by  at  the  time  ; 
she  patted  them  on  the  head,  and  bade  them  good  morning. 
Could  she  recollect,  five  minutes  thereafter,  having  seen 
them  ?  There  was  a  strange  and  distant  look  in  her  eyes. 
She  got  into  the  cab,  and  sat  down  by  Mairi,  and  then  took 
the  girl's  hand. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  take  you  away,  Mairi,"  she  said  ;  but  she 
was  apparently  not  thinking  of  Mairi,  nor  of  the  house  she 
was  leaving,  nor  yet  of  the  vehicle  in  which  she  was  so 
strangely  placed.  Was  she  thinking  of  a  certain  wild  and 
Avet  day  in  the  far  Hebrides,  when  a  young  bride  stood  on 
the  decks  of  a  great  vessel,  and  saw  the  home  of  her  child- 
hood and  the  friends  of  her  youth  fade  back  into  the 
desolate  waste  of  the  sea  ?  Perhaps  there  may  have  been 
some  unconscious  influence  in  this  picture  to  direct  her 
movements  at  this  moment,  for  of  definite  resolves  she  had 
none.  When  Mairi  told  her  that  the  cabman  wanted  to 
know  whither  he  was  to  drive,  she  merely  answered,  "  Oh, 
yes,  Mairi,  we  Avill  go  to  the  station  ; "  arid  Mairi  added, 
addressing  the  man,  "  It  was  the  Euston  Station."  Then 
they  drove  away. 

"  Are  you  going  home  ?  "  said  the  young  girl,  looking  up 
with  a  strange  foreboding  and  sinking  of  the  heart  to  the 
pale  face  and  distant  eyes.  "  Are  you  going  home,  Miss 
Sheila  ? " 

"  Oh,  yes,  we  are  going  home,  Mairi,"  was  the  answer 
she  got ;  but  the  tone  in  which  it  was  uttered  filled  her 
mind  with  doubt  and  something  like  despair. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

A  NEW  DAY  BEEAKS. 

WAS  this,  then,  the  end  of  the  fair  and  beautiful  romance 
that  had  sprung  up  and  blossomed  so  hopefully  in  the 
remote  and  bleak  island,  amid  the  silence  of  the  hills  and 
moors  and  the  wild  twilights  of  the  north,  and  set  round 
about,  as  it  were,  by  the  cold  sea- winds  and  the  sound  of 
the  Atlantic  waves  ?  Who  could  have  fancied,  looking  at 


A  NEW  DA  Y  BREAKS  315 

those  two  young  folks  as  they  wandered  about  the  shores 
of  the  island,  as  they  sailed  on  the  still  moonlight  nights 
through  the  channels  of  Loch  Roag,  or  as  they  sang  to- 
gether of  an  evening  in  the  little  parlour  of  the  house  at 
Borvabost,  that  all  the  delight  and  wonder  of  life  then 
apparently  opening  out  before  them  was  so  soon  and  so 
suddenly  to  collapse,  leaving  them  in  outer  darkness  and 
despair  ?  All  their  difficulties  had  been  got  over.  From 
one  side  and  from  another  they  had  received  generous  help, 
friendly  advice,  self-sacrifice  to  start  them  on  a  path  that 
seemed  to  be  strewn  with  sweet-smelling  flowers.  And  here 
was  the  end — a  wretched  girl,  blinded  and  bewildered,  fly- 
ing from  her  husband's  house  and  seeking  refuge  in  the 
great  world  of  London,  careless  whither  she  went. 

Whose  was  the  fault  ?  Which  of  them  had  been  mis- 
taken up  there  in  the  North,  laying  the  way  open  for  a 
bitter  disappointment  ?  Or  had  either  of  them  failed  to 
carry  out  that  unwritten  contract  entered  into  in  the 
halcyon  period  of  courtship,  by  which  two  young  people 
promise  to  be  and  remain  to  each  other  all  that  they  then 
appear  ? 

Lavender,  at  least,  had  no  right  to  complain.  If  the 
real  Sheila  turned  out  to  be  something  different  to  the 
Sheila  of  his  fancy,  he  had  been  abundantly  warned  that 
such  would  be  the  case.  He  had  even  accepted  it  as 
probable,  and  said  that  as  the  Sheila  whom  he  might  come 
to  know  must  doubtless  be  better  than  the  Sheila  whom  he 
had  imagined,  there  was  little  danger  in  store  for  either. 
He  would  love  the  true  Sheila  even  better  than  the  creature 
of  his  brain.  Had  he  done  so  ?  He  found  beside  him  this 
proud  and  sensitive  Highland  girl,  full  of  generous  impulses 
that  craved  for  the  practical  work  of  helping  other  people, 
longing,  with  the  desire  of  a  caged  bird,  for  the  free  winds 
and  light  of  heaven,  the  sight  of  hills  and  the  sound  of 
seas  ;  and  he  could  not  understand  why  she  should  not 
conform  to  the  usages  of  city  life.  He  was  disappointed 
that  she  did  not  do  so.  The  imaginative  Sheila,  who  was 
to  appear  as  a  wonderful  Sea-princess  in  London  drawing- 
rooms,  had  disappeared  now  ;  and  the  real  Sheila,  who  did 
not  care  to  go  with  him  into  that  society  which  he  loved  or 
affected  to  love,  he  had  not  learned  to  know, 


316  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

And  had  she  been  mistaken  in  her  estimate  of  Frank 
Lavender's  character  ?  At  the  very  moment  of  her  leaving 
her  husband's  house,  if  she  had  been  asked  the  question, 
she  would  have  turned  and  proudly  answered  "  No  !  "  She 
had  been  disappointed — so  grievously  disappointed  that  her 
heart  seemed  to  be  breaking  over  it ;  but  the  manner  in 
which  Frank  Lavender  had  fallen  away  from  the  promise 
he  had  given  was  due,  not  to  himself,  but  to  the  influence 
of  the  society  around  him.  Of  that  she  was  quite  assured. 
He  had  shown  himself  careless,  indifferent,  inconsiderate  to 
the  verge  of  cruelty ;  but  he  was  not,  she  had  convinced 
herself,  consciously  cruel,  nor  yet  selfish,  nor  radically  bad- 
hearted  in  any  way.  In  her  opinion,  at  least,  he  was 
courageously  sincere,  to  the  verge  of  shocking  people  who 
mistook  his  frankness  for  impudence.  He  was  recklessly 
generous  ;  he  would  have  given  the  coat  off  his  back  to  a 
beggar,  at  the  instigation  of  a  sudden  impulse,  provided  he 
could  have  got  into  a  cab  before  any  of  his  friends  saw 
him ;  he  had  rare  abilities,  and  at  times  wildly  ambitious 
dreams,  not  of  his  own  glorification,  but  of  what  he  would 
do  to  celebrate  the  beauty  and  the  graces  of  the  Princess 
whom  he  fancied  he  had  married.  It  may  seem  hard  of 
belief  that  this  man,  judging  him  by  his  actions  at  this 
time,  could  have  had  anything  of  thorough  self-forgetful- 
ness  and  manliness  in  his  nature.  But  when  things  were 
at  their  very  worst — when  he  appeared  to  the  world  as  a 
self-indulgent  idler,  careless  of  a  noble  woman's  unbounded 
love — when  his  indifference,  or  worse,  had  actually  driven 
from  his  house  a  young  wife  who  had  especial  claims  on  his 
forbearance  and  consideration — there  were  two  people  who 
still  believed  in  Frank  Lavender.  They  were  Sheila 
Mackenzie  and  Edward  Ingram  ;  and  a  man's  wife  and  his 
oldest  friend  generally  know  something  about  his  real 
nature,  its  besetting  temptations,  its  weakness,  its  strength, 
and  its  possibilities. 

Of  course  Ingram  was  speedily  made  aware  of  all  that  had 
happened.  Lavender  went  home  at  the  appointed  hour  to 
luncheon,  accompanied  by  his  three  acquaintances.  He  had 
met  them  accidentally  in  the  morning  ;  and  as  Mrs.  Lorraine 
was  most  particular  in  her  inquiries  about  Sheila,  he  thought 
he  could  not  do  better  than  ask  her  there  and  then,  with 


A  NEW  DA  Y  BREAKS  317 

her  mother  and  Lord  Arthur,  to  have  luncheon  at  two.  What 
followed  on  his  carrying  the  announcement  to  Sheila  we  know. 
He  left  the  house,  taking  it  for  granted  that  there  would  be 
no  trouble  when  he  returned.  Perhaps  he  reproached  him- 
self for  having  spoken  so  sharply  ;  but  Sheila  was  really  very 
thoughtless  in  such  matters.  At  two  o'clock  everything 
would  be  right.  Sheila  must  see  how  it  would  be  impossible 
to  introduce  a  young  Highland  serving-maid  to  two 
fastidious  ladies  and  the  son  of  a  great  Conservative  peer. 

Lavender  met  his  three  friends  once  more  and  walked  up 
to  the  house  with  them,  letting  them  in,  indeed,  with  his 
own  latch-key.  Passing  the  dining-room,  he  saw  that  the 
table  was  laid  there.  This  was  well.  Sheila  had  been 
reasonable. 

They  went  upstairs  to  the  drawing-room.  Sheila  was  not 
there.  Lavender  rang  the  bell,  and  bade  the  servant  tell 
her  mistress  she  was  wanted. 

"  Mrs.  Lavender  has  gone  out,  sir,"  said  the  servant. 

"  Oh,  indeed,"  he  said,  taking  the  matter  quite  coolly 
"When?" 

"  A  quarter  of  an  hour  ago,  sir.  She  went  out  with  the — 
the  young  lady  who  came  this  morning." 

"  Very  well.     Let  me  know  when  luncheon  is  ready," 

Lavender  turned  to  his  guests,  feeling  a  little  awkward,  but 
appearing  to  treat  the  matter  in  a  light  and  humorous  way, 
Ik-  imagined  that  Sheila,  resenting  what  he  had  said,  had 
resolved  to  take  Mairi  away,  and  find  her  lodgings  elsewhere. 
Perhaps  that  might  be  done  in  time  to  let  Sheila  come  back 
to  receive  his  guests. 

She  did  not  appear,  however,  and  luncheon  was  announced. 

"  I  suppose  we  may  as  well  go  down,"  said  Lavender,  with 
;i  shrug  of  his  shoulders.  "  It  is  impossible  to  say  when  she 
in  iv  come  back.  She  is  such  a  good-hearted  creature  that 
she  would  never  think  of  herself  or  her  own  affairs  in 
looking  after  this  girl  from  Lewis." 

They  went  down  stairs,  and  took  their  places  at  the  table. 

"  For  my  part,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  "  I  think  it  is  very 
unkind  not  to  wait  for  poor  Mrs.  Lavender.  She  may  come 
in  dreadfully  tired  and  hungry." 

"  But  that  would  not  vex  her  so  much  as  the  notion  that 
you  had  waited  on  her  account,"  said  Sheila's  husband,  with 


318  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

a  smile  ;  and  Mrs.  Lorraine  was  pleased  to  hear  him  some- 
times speak  in  a  kindly  way  of  the  Highland  girl  whom  he 
had  married. 

Lavender's  guests  were  going  somewhere  after  luncheon, 
and  he  had  half  promised  to  go  with  them,  Mrs.  Lorraine 
stipulating  that  Sheila  should  be  induced  to  come  also.  But 
when  luncheon  was  over,  and  Sheila  had  not  appeared,  he 
changed  his  intention.  He  would  remain  at  home.  He  saw 
his  three  friends  depart,  and  went  into  the  library,  and  lit 
a  cigar. 

How  odd  the  place  seemed  !  Sheila  had  left  no  instruc- 
tions about  the  removal  of  those  barbaric  decorations  she  had 
placed  in  the  chamber  ;  and  here,  around  him,  seemed  to  be 
the  walls  of  the  old  fashioned  little  room  at  Borvabost,  with 
its  big  shells,  its  peacocks'  feathers,  its  skins,  and  stuffed  fish, 
and  masses  of  crimson  bell-heather.  Was  there  not,  too,  an 
odour  of  peat-smoke  in  the  air  ? — and  then  his  eye  caught 
sight  of  the  plate  that  still  stood  on  the  window-sill,  with  the 
ashes  of  the  burned  peat  on  it. 

"  The  odd  child  she  is  !  "  he  thought,  with  a  smile,  "  to 
go  playing  at  grotto-making,  and  trying  to  fancy  she  was  up 
in  Lewis  again.  I  suppose  she  would  like  to  let  her  hair 
down  and  take  off  her  shoes  and  stockings,  and  go  wading 
along  the  sand  in  search  of  shell-fish." 

And  then,  somehow,  his  fancies  went  back  to  the  old  time 
when  he  had  first  seen  and  admired  her  Avild  ways,  her  fear- 
less occupations  by  sea  and  shore,  and  •  the  delight  of  active 
work  that  shone  on  her  bright  face  and  in  her  beautiful  eyes. 
How  lithe  and  handsome  her  figure  used  to  be,  in  that  blue 
dress,  when  she  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  boat,  her  head 
bent  back,  her  arms  upstretched  and  pulling  at  some  rope  or 
other,  and  all  the  fine  colour  of  exertion  in  the  bloom  of  her 
cheeks  !  Then  the  pride  with  which  she  saw  her  little  vessel 
cutting  through  the  water — how  she  tightened  her  lips  with 
a  joyous  determination  as  the  sheets  were  hauled  close  and 
the  gunwale  of  the  small  boat  heeled  over  so  that  it  almost 
touched  the  hissing  and  gurgling  foam — how  she  laughed 
at  Duncan's  anxiety  as  she  rounded  some  rocky  point,  and 
sent  the  boat  spinning  into  the  clear  and  smooth  waters  of 
the  bay  !  Perhaps,  after  all,  it  was  too  bad  to  keep  the  poor 
child  so  long  shut  up  in  a  city.  She  was  evidently  longing 


A  NEW  DAY  BREAKS  319 

for  a  breath  of  sea-air,  and  for  some  brief  dash  of  that  brisk, 
fearless  life  on  the  sea  coast  that  she  used  to  love.     It  was  a 
happy  life,  after  all ;  and  he  had  himself  enjoyed  it  when 
his  hands  and  face  got  browned  by  the  sun,  when  he  grew 
to  wonder  how  any  human  being  could  wear  black  garments, 
and  drink  foreign  wines,  and  smoke  cigars  at  eighteenpence 
apiece,  so  long  as  frieze  coats,  whisky,  and  a  brier-root  pipe 
were  procurable.     How  one  slept  up  in  that  remote  island, 
after  all  the  laughing,  and  drinking,  and  singing  of  the 
evening  were  over  !     How  sharp  was  the  monition  of  hunger 
when  the  keen  sea-air  blew  about  your  face  on  issuing  out 
in  the  morning ;  and  how  fresh,  and  cool,  and  sweet  was 
that  early  breeze,  with  the  scent  of  Sheila's  flowers  in  it  ! 
Then  the  long,  bright  day  at  the  riverside,  with  the  black 
pools  rippling  in  the  wind,  and  in  the  silence  the  rapid 
whistle  of  the  silken  line  through  the  air,  and  now  and 
again  the  "  blob  "  of  a  salmon  jumping  farther  down  the 
pool.     Where  was  there  any  rest  like  the  rest  of  the  mid-day 
luncheon,  when  Duncan  had  put  the  big  fish,  wrapped  in 
rushes,  under  the  shadow  of  the  nearest  rock,  when  you  sat 
down  on  the  warm  heather,  and  lit  your  pipe,  and  began  to 
iii(|uire  where  you  had  been  bitten  on  hands  and  neck  by 
the  ferocious  "  clegs  "  while  you  were  too  busy  in  playing  a 
fifteen-pounder  to  care.     Then,  perhaps,  as  you  were  sitting 
there  in  the  warm  sunlight,  with  all  the  fresh  scents  of  the 
moorland  around  yon,  you  would  hear  a  light  footstep  on 
the  soft  moss  ;  and,  turning  round,  here  was  Sheila  herself, 
with  a  bright  look  in  her  pretty  eyes,  and  a  half -blush  on  her 
check,  and  ;i  friendly  inquiry  as  to  the  way  the  fish  had  been 
behaving.     Then  the  beautiful,  strange,  cool  evenings  on 
the  shuns   of  Loch  Roag,  with  the  wild,  clear  light  still 
shining  in  the  northern  heavens,  and  the  Bound  of  the  waus 
Letting  to  be  lonely  and  distant  ;  or,  still  later,  out  in  Sheila's 
l)uat,  with  the  great  yellow  moon  rising  up  over  Suainabhal 
and  Mealasabhal  into  a  lambent  vault  of  violet  sky  ;  a  path- 
way of  quivering  gold  lying  across  the  loch  ;  a  mild  radiance 
glittering  here  and  there  on  the  spars  of  the  small  vessel ; 
and,  out  there,  the  great  Atlantic  lying  still  and  remote  as  in 
a  dream.     As  he  sat  in  this  little  room  and  thought  of  all 
these  things,  he  grew  to  think  he  had  not  acted  quite  fairly 
to  Sheila.     She  was  so  fond  of  that  toautiful  island  life  ; 


320  A  PRINCESS  OF  TffULE 

and  she  had  not  even  visited  the  Lewis  since  her  marriage. 
She  should  go  now.  He  would  abandon  that  trip  to  the 
Tyrol  ;  and  as  soon  as  arrangements  could  be  made,  they 
would  together  start  for  the  North  ;  and  some  day  find 
themselves  going  up  the  steep  shore  to  Sheila's  home,  with 
the  old  King  of  Borva  standing  in  the  porch  of  the  house, 
and  endeavouring  to  conceal  his  nervousness  by  swearing 
at  Duncan's  method  of  carrying  the  luggage. 

Had  not  Sheila's  stratagem  succeeded  ?  That  pretty 
trick  of  hers,  in  decorating  the  room  so  as  to  resemble  the 
house  at  Borvabost,  had  done  all  that  she  could  have 
desired.  But  where  was  she  ? 

Lavender  rose  hastily,  and  looked  at  his  watch.  Then  he 
rang  the  bell,  and  a  servant  appeared. 

"  Did  not  Mrs.  Lavender  say  when  she  would  return  ?  " 
he  asked. 

"  No,  sir." 

"  You  don't  know  where  she  went  ?  " 

"  No,  sir.  The  young  lady's  luggage  was  put  into  the  cab, 
and  they  drove  away  without  leaving  any  message." 

He  scarcely  dared  confess  to  himself  what  fears  began  to 
assail  him.  He  went  up  stairs  to  Sheila's  room  ;  and  there 
everything  appeared  to  be  in  its  usual  place,  even  to  the 
smallest  articles  on  the  dressing-table.  They  were  all  there, 
except  one.  That  was  a  locket,  too  large  and  clumsy  to  be 
worn,  which  some  one  had  given  her  years  before  she  left 
Lewis,  and  in  which  her  father's  portrait  had  been  somewhat 
rudely  set,  Just  after  their  marriage,  Lavender  had  taken 
out  this  portrait,  touched  it  up  a  bit  into  something  of  a 
better  likeness,  and  put  it  back  ;  and  then  she  had  persuaded 
him  to  have  a  photograph  of  himself  coloured  and  placed  on 
the  opposite  side.  This  locket,  open  and  showing  both 
portraits,  she  had  fixed  on  to  a  small  stand,  and,  in  ordinary 
circumstances,  it  always  stood  on  one  side  of  her  dressing- 
table.  The  stand  was  there  ;  the  locket  was  gone. 

He  went  down  stairs  again.  The  afternoon  was  drawing 
on.  A  servant  came  to  ask  him  at  what  hour  he  wished  to 
dine ;  he  bade  her  wait  till  her  mistress  came  home,  and 
consult  her.  Then  he  went  out. 

It  was  a  beautiful,  quiet  afternoon,  with  a  warm  light  from 
the  west  shining  over  the  now  yellowing  trees  of  the  squares 


A  NEW  DA  Y  BREAKS  321 

and  gardens.  He  walked  down  towards  Netting  Hill  Gate 
Station,  endeavouring  to  convince  himself  that  he  was  not 
perturbed,  and  yet  looking  somewhat  anxiously  at  the  cabs 
that  passed.  People  were  now  coming  out  from  their 
business  in  the  city,  by  train,  and  omnibus,  and  hansom ; 
and  they  seemed  to  be  hurrying  home  in  very  good  spirits, 
as  if  they  were  sure  of  the  welcome  awaiting  them  there. 
Now  and  again  you  would  see  a  meeting — some  demure  young 
person,  who  had  been  furtively  watching  the  railway  station, 
suddenly  showing  a  brightness  in  her  face,  as  she  went 
forward  to  shake  hands  with  some  new  arrival,  and  then 
tripping  briskly  away  with  him,  her  hand  on  his  arm. 
There  were  men  carrying  home  fish  in  small  bags,  or  baskets 
of  fruit — presents  to  their  wives,  doubtless,  from  town. 
Occasionally  an  open  carriage  would  go  by,  containing  one 
grave  and  elderly  gentleman  and  a  group  of  small  girls — 
probably  his  daughters,  who  had  gone  into  the  city  to 
accompany  their  papa  homeward.  Why  did  these  scenes 
and  incidents,  cheerful  in  themselves,  seem  to  him  to  be 
somehow  saddening,  as  he  walked  vaguely  on  ?  He  knew, 
at  least,  that  there  was  little  use  in  returning  home.  There 
was  no  one  in  that  silent  house  in  the  square.  The  rooms 
would  be  dark  in  the  twilight.  Probably  dinner  would  be 
laid,  with  no  one  to  sit  down  at  the  table.  He  wished 
Sheila  had  left  word  where  she  was  going. 

Then  he  bethought  him  of  the  way  in  which  they  had 
parted ;  and  of  the  sense  of  fear  that  had  struck  him  the 
moment  he  left  the  house.  And  after  all  he  had  been  too 
harsh  with  the  child.  Now,  at  least,  he  was  ready  to 
apologize  to  her.  If  only  he  could  see  Sheila  coming  along 
in  one  of  those  hansoms — if  he  could  see,  at  any  distance, 
the  figure  he  knew  so  well  walking  towards  him  on  the 
pavement — would  he  not  instantly  confess  to  her  that  he  had 
been  wrong,  even  grievously  wrong,  and  beg  her  to  forgive 
him  ?  She  should  have  it  all  her  own  way  about  going  up 
to  Lewis.  He  would  cast  aside  this  society  life  he  had  been 
living,  and,  to  please  her,  would  go  in  for  any  sort  of  work 
or  amusement  of  which  she  approved.  He  was  so  anxious, 
indeed,  to  put  these  virtuous  resolutions  into  force,  that  he 
suddenly  turned  and  walked  rapidly  back  to  the  house,  with 
the  wild  hope  that  Sheila  might  have  already  come  back. 

T 


322  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

The  windows  were  dark ;  the  curtains  were  yet  drawn  ; 
and  by  this  time  the  evening  had  come  on,  and  the  lamps 
in  the  square  had  been  lit.  He  let  himself  into  the  house 
by  his  latch-key.  He  walked  into  all  the  rooms,  and  up 
into  Sheila's  room  ;  everything  remained  as  he  had  left  it. 
The  white  cloth  glimmered  in  the  dusk  of  the  dining-room, 
and  the  light  of  the  lamp  outside  in  the  street  touched  here 
and  there  the  angles  of  the  crystal,  and  showed  the  pale 
colours  of  the  glasses.  The  clock  on  the  mantelpiece  ticked 
in  the  silence.  If  Sheila  had  been  lying  dead  in  that  small 
room  upstairs,  the  house  could  not  have  appeared  more 
silent  and  solemn. 

He  could  not  bear  this  horrible  solitude.  He  called  one 
of  the  servants,  and  left  a  message  for  Sheila,  if  she  came 
in  in  the  interval,  that  he  would  be  back  at  ten  o'clock  ; 
then  he  went  out,  got  into  a  hansom,  and  drove  down  to 
his  club  in  St.  James's  Street. 

Most  of  the  men  were  dining ;  the  other  rooms  were 
almost  deserted.  He  did  not  care  to  dine  just  then.  He 
went  into  the  library  ;  it  was  occupied  by  an  old  gentleman 
who  was  fast  asleep  in  an  easy-chair.  He  went  into  the 
billiard-rooms,  in  the  vague  hope  that  some  exciting  game 
might  be  going  on ;  there  was  not  a  soul  in  the  place,  the 
gases  were  down,  and  an  odour  of  stale  smoke  pervaded  the 
dismal  chambers.  Should  he  go  to  the  theatre  ?  His 
sitting  there  would  be  a  mockery,  while  this  vague  and 
terrible  fear  was  present  to  his  heart.  Or  go  down  to  see 
Ingram,  as  had  been  his  wont  in  previous  hours  of  trouble  ? 
He  dared  not  go  near  Ingram  without  some  more  definite 
news  about  Sheila.  In  the  end,  he  went  out  into  the  open 
air,  as  if  he  were  in  danger  of  being  stifled ;  and,  walking 
indeterminately  on,  found  himself  once  more  at  his  own 
house. 

The  place  was  still  quite  dark  ;  he  knew  before  entering 
that  Sheila  had  not  returned,  and  he  did  not  seem  to  be 
surprised.  It  was  now  long  after  their  ordinary  dinner- 
hour.  When  he  went  into  the  house  he  bade  the  servants 
light  the  gas  and  bring  up  dinner  ;  he  would  himself  sit 
down  at  the  solitary  table,  if  only  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
occupation  and  passing  this  terrible  time  of  suspense. 
It  never  occurred  to  him,  as  it  might  have  occurred  to 


A  NEW  DA  Y  BREAKS  323 

him  at  one  time,  that  Sheila  had  made  some  blunder  some- 
where, and  been  unavoidably  detained.  He  did  not  think 
of  any  possible  repetition  of  her  adventures  in  Richmond 
Park.  He  was  too  conscious  of  the  probable  reason  of 
Sheila's  remaining  away  from  her  own  home  ;  and  yet, 
from  minute  to  minute,  he  fought  with  that  consciousness, 
and  sought  to  prove  to  himself  that,  after  all,  she  would 
soon  be  heard  driving  up  to  the  door.  He  ate  his  dinner 
in  silence ;  and  then  drew  a  chair  up  to  the  fire  and  lit 
a  cigar. 

For  the  first  time  in  Ms  life  he  was  driven  to  go  over  the 
events  that  had  occurred  since  his  marriage,  and  to  ask 
himself  how  it  had  all  come  about  that  Sheila  and  he  were 
not  as  they  once  had  been.  He  recalled  the  early  days  of 
their  friendship  at  Borva ;  the  beautiful  period  of  their 
courtship ;  the  appearance  of  the  young  wife  in  London  ; 
and  the  close  relegation  of  Sheila  to  the  domestic  affairs  of 
the  house,  while  he  had  chosen  for  himself  other  companions, 
other  interests,  other  aims.  There  was  no  attempt  at  self- 
justification  in  those  communings,  but  an  effort,  sincere 
enough  in  its  way,  to  understand  how  all  this  had  happened. 
He  sat  and  dreamed  there,  before  the  warmth  of  the  fire, 
with  the  slow  and  monotonous  ticking  of  the  clock  uncon- 
sciously acting  on  his  brain.  In  time  the  silence,  the 
warmth,  the  monotonous  sound,  produced  their  natural 
effects,  and  he  fell  asleep. 

He  awoke  with  a  start.  The  small  silver-toned  bell  on 
the  mantelpiece  had  struck  the  hour  of  twelve.  He  looked 
around,  and  knew  that  the  evil  had  come  upon  him  :  for 
Sheila  had  not  returned,  and  all  his  most  dreadful  fears  of 
that  evening  were  confirmed.  Sheila  had  gone  away  and 
left  him — whither  had  she  gone  ? 

Xow  there  was  no  more  indecision  in  his  actions.  He 
got  his  hat,  plunged  into  the  cold  night  air,  and  finding 
a  hansom,  bade  the  man  drive  as  hard  as  he  could  go  down 
to  Sloane  Street.  There  was  a  light  in  Ingrain's  windows, 
which  were  on  the  ground-floor  ;  he  tapped  with  his  stick 
on  one  of  the  panes — an  old  signal  that  had  been  in 
constant  use  when  he  and  Ingram  were  close  companions 
and  friends.  Ingram  came  to  the  door  and  opened  it ;  the 
light  of  a  lamp  glared  in  upon  his  face. 

Y  2 


324  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Hillo,  Lavender  !  "  he  said,  in  a  tone  of  surprise. 

The  other  could  not  speak  ;  but  he  went  into  the  house, 
and  Ingram,  shutting  the  door  and  following  him,  found 
that  the  man's  face  was  deadly  pale. 

"  Sheila "  he  said,  and  stopped. 

"  Well,  what  about  her  ?  "  said  Ingram,  keeping  quite 
calm,  but  with  wild  fancies  about  some  terrible  accident 
almost  stopping  the  pulsation  of  his  heart. 

"  Sheila  has  gone  away." 

Ingram  did  not  seem  to  understand. 

"  Sheila  has  gone  away,  Ingram,"  said  Lavender,  in  an 
excited  manner.  "  You  don't  know  anything  about  it  ? 
You  don't  know  where  she  has  gone  ?  What  am  I  to  do, 
Ingram — how  am  I  to  find  her  ?  Good  God,  don't  you 
understand  what  I  tell  you  ?  And  now  it  is  past  midnight, 
and  my  poor  girl  may  be  wandering  about  the  streets." 

He  was  walking  up  and  down  the  room,  paying  almost 
no  attention,  in  his  excitement,  to  the  small  sallow-faced 
man,  who  stood  quite  quiet,  a  trifle  afraid,  perhaps,  but 
with  his  heart  full  of  a  blaze  of  anger. 

"  She  has  gone  away  from  your  house,"  he  said,  slowly. 
"  What  made  her  do  that  ?  " 

"  I  did,"  said  Lavender,  in  a  hurried  way.  "  I  have 
acted  like  a  brute  to  her — that  is  true  enough.  You 
needn't  say  anything  to  me,  Ingram  ;  I  feel  myself  far 
more  guilty  than  anything  you  could  say  ;  you  may  heap 
reproaches  on  me  afterwards  ;  but  tell  me,  Ingram,  what 
am  I  to  do  ?  You  know  what  a  proud  spirit  she  has — who 
can  tell  what  she  might  do  ?  She  wouldn't  go  home — she 
would  be  too  proud — she  may  have  gone  and  drowned 
herself " 

"  If  you  don't  control  yourself,  and  tell  me  what  has 
happened,  how  am  I  to  help  you  ?  "  said  Ingram,  stiffly  ; 
and  yet  disposed  somehow — perhaps  for  the  sake  of  Sheila, 
perhaps  because  he  saw  that  the  young  man's  bewilderment 
and  distress  were  genuine  enough — not  to  be  too  rough 
with  him. 

"  Well,  you  know  Mairi,"  said  Lavender,  still  walking  up 
and  down  the  room  in  an  excited  fashion.  "  Sheila  had 
got  up  the  girl  here  without  telling  me — some  friends  of 
mine  were  coming  home  to  luncheon — we  had  some  dis- 


A  NEW  DAY  BREAKS  325 

agreement  about  Mairi  being  present — and  then  Sheila  said 
something  about  not  remaining  in  the  house  if  Mairi  did 
not — something  of  that  sort.  I  don't  know  what  it  was, 
but  I  know  it  was  all  my  fault ;  and  if  she  has  been  driven 
from  the  house  I  did  it — that  is  true  enough.  And  where 
do  you  think  she  has  gone,  Ingram  ?  If  I  could  only  see 
her  for  three  minutes  I  would  explain  everything  ;  I  would 
tell  her  how  sorry  I  am  for  everything  that  has  happened  ; 
and  she  would  see,  when  she  went  back,  how  everything 
would  go  right  again.  I  had  no  idea  she  would  go  away. 
It  was  mere  peevishness  that  made  me  object  to  Mairi 
meeting  those  people  ;  and  I  had  no  idea  that  Sheila  would 
take  it  so  much  to  heart.  Now  tell  me  what  you  think 
should  be  done,  Ingram — all  I  want  is  to  see  her  just  for 
three  minutes  to  tell  her  it  was  all  a  mistake,  and  that  she 
will  never  have  to  fear  anything  like  that  again." 

Ingram  heard  him  out,  and  said,  with  some  precision — 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  fancy  all  this  trouble  is 
to  be  got  over  that  way  ?  Do  you  know  so  little  of  Sheila, 
after  the  time  you  have  been  married  to  her,  as  to  imagine 
that  she  has  taken  this  step  out  of  some  momentary  caprice, 
and  that  a  few  words  of  apology  and  promise  will  cause  her 
to  rescind  it  ?  You  must  be  crazed,  Lavender  ;  or  else  you 
are  actually  as  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  that  girl  as  you 
were  up  in  the  Highlands." 

The  young  man  seemed  to  repress  his  excitement  and 
impatience,  but  it  was  because  of  a  new  fear  that  had  struck 
him,  and  that  was  visible  in  his  face. 

"  Do  you  think  she  will  never  come  back,  Ingram  ?  "  he 
said,  looking  aghast. 

"  I  don't  know.  She  may  not.  At  all  events,  you  may 
be  quite  sure  that,  once  having  resolved  to  leave  your  house, 
she  is  not  to  be  pacified  and  cajoled  by  a  few  phrases  and  a 
promise  of  repentance  on  your  part.  That  is  quite  sure. 
And  what  is  quite  as  sure  is  this,  that  if  you  knew  just  now 
where  she  was,  the  most  foolish  thing  you  could  do  would 
be  to  go  and  see  her " 

"But  I  must  go  and  see  her — I  must  find  her  out, 
Ingram,"  he  said,  passionately.  "  I  don't  care  what 
becomes  of  me.  If  she  won't  go  back  home,  so  much  the 
worse  for  me  ;  but  I  must  find  her  out,  and  know  that  she 


326  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

is  safe  !  Think  of  it,  '.  Ingram — perhaps  she  is  walking 
about  the  streets  somewhere  at  this  moment — and  you 
know  her  proud  spirit — if  she  were  to  go  near  the 
river " 

"  She  won't  go  near  the  river,"  said  Ingram,  calmly. 
"And  she  won't  be  walking  about  the  streets.  She  is 
either  in  the  Scotch  mail-train,  going  down  to  Glasgow,  or 
else  she  has  got  some  lodgings  somewhere,  along  with  Mairi. 
Has  she  any  money  ?  " 

"No,"  said  Lavender.  And  then  he  thought  for  a 
minute.  "  There  was  some  money  her  father  gave  her  in 
case  she  might  want  it  at  a  pinch — she  may  have  that.  I 
hope  she  has  that.  I  was  to  have  given  her  money  to- 
morrow morning.  But  hadn't  I  better  go  to  the  police- 
stations,  and  see,  just  by  way  of  precaution,  that  she  has 
not  been  heard  of  ?  I  may  as  well  do  that  as  nothing.  I 
could  not  go  home  to  that  empty  house.  I  could  not 
sleep." 

"  Sheila  is  a  sensible  girl ;  she  is  safe  enough,"  said 
Ingram.  "  And  if  you  don't  care  about  going  home,  you 
may  as  well  remain  here.  I  can  give  you  a  room  upstairs 
when  you  want  it.  In  the  meantime,  if  you  will  pull  a 
chair  to  the  table,  and  calm  yourself,  and  take  it  for  granted 
that  you  will  soon  be  assured  of  Sheila's  safety,  I  will  tell 
you  what  I  think  you  should  do.  Here  is  a  cigar  to  keep 
you  occupied  ;  there  is  whisky  and  cold  water  back  there,  if 
you  like  ;  you  will  do  no  good  by  punishing  yourself  in 
small  matters  ;  for  your  trouble  is  likely  to  be  serious 
enough,  I  can  tell  you,  before  you  get  Sheila  back,  if  ever 
you  get  her  back.  Take  the  chair  with  the  cushion." 

It  was  so  like  the  old  days  when  these  two  used  to  be 
companions  !  Many  and  many  a  time  had  the  younger 
man  come  down  to  these  lodgings,  with  all  his  troubles,  and 
wild  impulses,  and  pangs  of  contrition  ready  to  be  revealed  ; 
and  then  Ingram,  concealing  the  liking  he  had  for  the  lad's 
generous  waywardness,  his  brilliant  and  facile  cleverness, 
and  his  dashes  of  honest  self-depreciation,  would  gravely 
lecture  him,  and  put  him  right,  and  send  him  off  comforted. 
Frank  Lavender  had  changed  much  since  then.  The 
handsome  boy  had  grown  into  a  man  of  the  world ;  there 
was  less  self-revelation  in  his  manner,  and  he  was  less 


A  NEW  DA  Y  BREAKS  327 

sensitive  to  the  opinions  and  criticisms  of  his  old  friend  ; 
but  Ingram,  who  was  not  prone  to  idealism  of  any  sort,  had 
never  ceased  to  believe  that  this  change  was  but  superficial, 
and  that,  in  different  circumstances  and  with  different 
aims.  Lavender  might  still  fulfil  the  best  promise  of  his 
youth. 

"  You  have  been  a  good  friend  to  me,  Ingram,"  he  said, 
with  a  hot  blush,  "  and  I  have  treated  you  as  badly  as  I 

have  treated By  Jove,  what  a  chance  I  had  at  one 

time  ! " 

He  was  looking  back  on  all  the  fair  pictures  his  imagina- 
tion had  drawn  while  yet  Sheila  and  he  were  wandering 
about  that  island  in  the  northern  seas. 

"  You  had,"  said  Ingram,  decisively.  "  At  one  time  I 
thought  you  the  most  fortunate  man  in  the  world.  There 
was  nothing  left  for  you  to  desire,  as  far  as  I  could  see. 
You  were  young,  and  strong,  with  plenty  of  good  spirits 
and  sufficient  ability  to  earn  yourself  an  honourable  living, 
and  you  had  won  the  love  of  the  most  beautiful  and  best- 
hearted  woman  I  have  known.  You  never  seemed  to  me  to 
know  what  that  meant.  Men  marry  women — there  is  no 
difficulty  about  that ;  and  you  can  generally  get  an  amiable 
sort  of  person  to  become  your  wife,  and  have  a  sort  of 
affection  for  you,  and  so  on.  But  how  many  have  bestowed 
on  them  the  pure  and  exalted  passion  of  a  young  and 
innocent  girl,  who  is  ready  to  worship  with  all  the  fervour 
of  a  warmly  imaginative  and  emotional  nature  the  man  she 
has  chosen  to  love  ?  And  suppose  he  is  young  too,  and 
capable  of  understanding  all  the  tender  sentiments  of  a 
high-spirited,  sensitive,  and  loyal  woman,  and  suppose  that 
he  fancies  himself  as  much  in  love  with  her  as  she  is  with 
him  ?  These  conditions  are  not  often  fulfilled,  I  can  tell 
you.  It  is  a  happy  fluke  when  they  are.  Many  a  day  ago 
I  told  you  that  you  should  consider  yourself  more  fortunate 
than  if  you  had  been  made  an  emperor ;  and,  indeed,  it 
seemed  to  me  that  you  had  everything  in  the  shape  of 
worldly  happiness  easily  within  your  reach.  How  you  came 
to  kick  away  the  ball  from  your  feet — well — God  only 
knows.  The  thing  is  inconceivable  to  me.  You  are  sitting 
here  as  you  used  to  sit  two  or  three  years  ago  ;  and  in  the 
interval  you  have  had  every  chance  in  life  ;  and  now,  if  you 


328  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

are  not  the  most  wretched  man  in  London,  you  ought  at 
least  to  be  the  most  ashamed  and  repentant." 

Lavender's  head  was  buried  in  his  hands  ;  he  did  not 
speak. 

"  And  it  is  not  only  your  own  happiness  you  have 
destroyed.  When  you  saw  that  girl  first  she  was  as  light- 
hearted  and  contented  with  her  lot  as  any  human  being 
could  be.  From  one  week's  end  to  the  other  not  the 
slightest  care  disturbed  her  mind.  And  then,  when  she 
confided  her  whole  life  to  you — when  she  staked  her  faith  in 
human  nature  on  you,  and  gave  you  all  the  treasures  of 
hope,  and  reverence,  and  love,  that  lay  in  her  pure  and 
innocent  soul — my  God  !  what  have  you  done  with  these  ? 
It  is  not  that  you  have  shamed  and  insulted  her  as  a  wife, 
and  driven  her  out  of  her  home — there  are  other  homes 
than  yours  Avhere  she  would  be  welcome  a  thousand  times 
over — but  you  have  destroyed  her  belief  in  everything  she 
had  taught  herself  to  trust,  you  have  outraged  the  tenderest 
sentiments  of  her  heart,  you  have  killed  her  faith  as  well  as 
ruined  her  life.  I  talk  plainly.  I  cannot  do  otherwise. 
If  I  help  you  now,  don't  imagine  I  forget  what  you  have 
done — I  would  cut  off  my  right  hand  first.  For  Sheila's 
sake,  I  will  try  to  help  you." 

He  stopped  just  then,  however,  and  checked  the  indigna- 
tion that  had  got  the  better  of  his  ordinarily  restrained 
manner  and  curt  speech.  The  man  before  him  was  crying 
bitterly,  his  face  hidden  in  his  hands. 

"  Look  here,  Lavender,"  he  said,  presently.  "  I  don't 
want  to  be  hard  on  you.  I  tell  you  plainly  what  I  think 
of  your  conduct,  so  that  no  delusions  may  exist  between 
us.  And  I  will  say  this  for  you,  that  the  only  excuse  you 
have " 

"  There  is  no  excuse,"  said  the  other,  sadly  enough.  "  I 
have  no  excuse,  and  I  know  it." 

"  The  only  thing,  then,  you  can  say  in  mitigation  of  what 
you  have  done  is,  that  you  never  seem  to  have  understood 
the  girl  whom  you  married.  You  started  with  giving  her  a 
fancy  character  when  first  you  went  to  the  Lewis  ;  and 
once  you  had  got  the  bit  in  your  teeth,  there  was  no 
stopping  you.  If  you  seek  now  to  get  Sheila  back  to  you, 
the  best  thing  you  can  do,  I  presume,  would  be  to  try  to  see 


A  NEW  DA  Y  BREAKS  3^9 

her  as  she  is,  to  win  her  regard  that  way,  to  abandon  that 
operatic  business,  and  learn  to  know  her  as  a  thoroughly 
good  woman,  who  has  her  own  ways  and  notions  about 
things,  and  who  has  a  very  definite  character  underlying 
that  extreme  gentleness  which  she  fancies  to  be  one  of  her 
duties.  The  child  did  her  dead  best  to  accommodate  herself 
to  your  idea  of  her,  and  failed.  "When  she  would  rather 
have  been  living  a  brisk  and  active  life  in  the  country,  or 
by  the  sea — running  wild  about  a  hill-side,  or  reading 
strange  stories  in  the  evening,  or  nursing  some  fisherman's 
child  that  had  got  ill — you  had  her  dragged  into  a  sort  of 
society  with  which  she  had  no  sympathy  whatever.  And 
the  odd  thing  to  me  is  that  you  yourself  seemed  to  be 
making  an  effort  that  way !  You  did  not  always  devote 
yourself  to  fashionable  life.  What  has  become  of  all  the  old 
ambitions  you  used  to  talk  about  in  the  very  chair  you  are 
now  sitting  in  ?  " 

"  Is  there  any  hope  of  my  getting  Sheila  back  ?  "  he  said, 
looking  up  at  last.  There  was  a  vague  and  bewildered  look 
in  his  eyes.  He  seemed  incapable  of  thinking  of  anything 
but  that. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Ingram.  "  But  one  thing  is 
certain — you  will  never  get  her  back  to  repeat  the  experiment 
just  ended  in  this  desperate  way." 

"  I  should  not  ask  that,"  he  said  hurriedly.  "  I  should 
not  ask  that  at  all.  If  I  could  but  see  her  for  a  moment,  I 
would  ask  her  to  tell  me  everything  she  wanted — everything 
she  demanded  as  conditions — and  I  would  obey  them  all. 
I  will  promise  to  do  everything  that  she  wishes." 

"  If  you  saw  her,  you  could  give  her  nothing  but 
promises,"  said  Ingram,  quietly.  "  Now,  what  if  you  were 
to  try  to  do  what  you  know  she  wishes,  and  then  go  to 
her  ?  " 

"  You  mean ,"  said  Lavender,  glancing  up  with 

another  startled  look  on  his  face.  "  You  don't  mean  that  I 
am  to  remain  away  from  her  a  long  time — go  into  banish- 
ment, as  it  were — and  then,  some  day,  come  back  to  Sheila, 
and  beg  her  to  forget  all  that  happened  long  before  ?  " 

"  I  mean  something  very  like  that,"  said  Ingram,  with 
composure.  "  I  don't  know  that  it  would  be  successful.  I 
have  no  means  of  ascertaining  what  Sheila  would  think  of 


330-  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

such  a  project — whether  she  ;would  think  that  she  could 
ever  live  with  you  again." 

Lavender  seemed  fairly  stunned  by  the  possibility  of 
Sheila's  resolving  never  to  see  him  again ;  and  began  to 
recall  what  Ingram  had  many  a  time  said  about  the  strength 
of  purpose  she  could  show  when  occasion  needed. 

"If  her  faith  in  you  is  wholly  destroyed,  your  case  is 
hopeless.  A  woman  may  cling  to  her  belief  in  a  man, 
through  good  report  and  evil  report ;  but  if  she  once  loses 
it,  she  never  recovers  it.  But  there  is  this  hope  for  you.  I 
know  very  well  that  Sheila  had  a  much  more  accurate  notion 
of  you  than  ever  you  had  of  her ;  and  I  happen  to  know, 
also,  that  at  the  very  time  when  you  were  most  deeply 
distressing  her,  here  in  London,  she  held  the  firm  conviction 
that  your  conduct  towards  her — your  habits,  your  very  self 
— would  alter  if  you  could  only  be  persuaded  to  get  out  of 
the  life  you  had  been  leading.  That  was  true,  at  least,  up 
to  the  time  of  your  leaving  Brighton.  She  believed  in 
you  then.  She  believed  that  if  you  were  to  cut  Society 
altogether,  and  go  and  live  a  useful  and  hard-working  life 
somewhere,  you  would  soon  become  once  more  the  man  she 
fell  in  love  with  up  in  Lewis.  Perhaps  she  was  mistaken — • 
I  don't  say  anything  about  it  myself." 

The  terribly  cool  way  in  which  Ingram  talked — separat- 
ing, defining,  exhibiting,  so  that  he  and  his  companion 
should  get  as  near  as  possible  to  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
truth  of  the  situation — was  oddly  in  contrast  with  the  blind 
and  passionate  yearning  of  the  other  for  some  glimpse  of 
hope.  His  whole  nature  seemed  to  go  out  in  a  cry  to  Sheila, 
that  she  would  come  back  and  give  him  a  chance  of  atoning 
for  the  past.  At  length  he  rose.  He  looked  strangely 
haggard,  and  his  eyes  scarcely  seemed  to  see  the  things 
around  him. 

"  I  must  go  home,"  he  said. 

Ingram  saw  that  he  merely  wanted  to  get  outside  and 
walk  about  in  order  to  find  some  relief  from  this  anxiety 
and  unrest ;  so  he  said— 

"  You  ought,  I  think,  to  stop  here  and  sleep  here.  But 
if  you  would  rather  go  home,  I  will  walk  up  with  you,  if 
you  like." 

When  the  two  men  went  out,  the  night-air  smelt  sweet 


A  NEW  DAY  BREAKS  331 

and  moist,  for  rain  had  fallen,  and  the  city  trees  were  still 
dripping  with  the  wet  and  rustling  in  the  wind.  The 
weather  had  changed  suddenly,  and  now,  in  the  deep  blue 
overhead,  they  knew  the  clouds  were  passing  swiftly  by. 
Was  it  the  coming  light  of  the  morning  that  seemed  to  give 
depth  and  richness  to  that  dark  blue  vault,  while  the  pave- 
ments of  the  streets  and  the  houses  grew  vaguely  distinct 
and  grey  ?  Suddenly,  in  turning  a  corner  in  Piccadilly, 
they  saw  the  moon  appear  in  a  rift  of  those  passing  clouds  ; 
but  it  was  not  the  moonlight  that  shed  this  pale  and  wan 
greyness  down  the  lonely  thoroughfares.  It  is  just  at 
this  moment,  when  the  dawn  of  the  new  day  begins  to 
tell  that  a  great  city  seems  at  its  deadest ;  and  in  the  pro- 
found silence  and  amid  the  strange  transformations  of  the 
pallid  and  growing  light,  a  man  is  thrown  in  upon  himself, 
and  holds  communion  with  himself,  as  though  he  and  his 
own  thoughts  were  all  that  is  left  in  the  world.  Not  a  word 
passed  between  the  two  men ;  and  Lavender,  keenly  sensi- 
tive to  all  such  impressions,  and  now  and  again  shivering 
slightly,  either  from  cold  or  nervous  excitement,  walked 
blindly  along  the  deserted  streets,  seeing  far  other  things 
than  the  tall  houses,  and  the  drooping  trees,  and  the  increas- 
ing light  of  the  sky. 

It  seemed  to  him  at  this  moment  that  he  was  looking  at 
Sheila's  funeral.  There  was  a  great  stillness  in  that  small 
house  at  Borvabost.  There  was  a  boat — Sheila's  own  boat 
— down  at  the  shore  there  ;  and  there  were  two  or  three 
figures  in  black  in  it.  The  day  was  grey  and  rainy  ;  the  sea 
washed  along  the  melancholy  rocks  ;  the  far  hills  were 
hidden  in  mist.  And  now  he  saw  some  people  come  out  of 
the  house  into  the  rain  ;  and  the  bronzed  and  bearded  men 
had  oars  with  them ;  and  on  the  crossed  oars  there  was  a 
coffin  placed.  They  went  down  the  hill-side.  They  put  the 
coffin  in  the  stern  of  the  boat  ;  and  in  absolute  silence — 
except  for  the  wailing  of  the  women — they  pulled  away  down 
the  dreary  Loch  Roag  till  they  came  to  the  island  where  the 
burial-ground  is.  They  carried  the  coffin  up  to  the  small 
inclosure,  with  its  rank  grass  growing  green,  and  the  rain 
falling  on  the  rude  stones  and  memorials.  How  often  had 
he  leaned  on  that  low  stone  wall,  and  read  the  strange 
inscriptions,  in  various  tongues,  over  the  graves  of  mariners 


332  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

from  distant  countries  who  had  met  with  their  death  on  this 
rocky  coast.  Had  not  Sheila  herself  pointed  out  to  him, 
with  a  sad  air,  how  many  of  these  memorials  bore  the  words 
"  who  was  drowned  ;  "  and  that,  too,  was  the  burden  of  the 
rudely-spelt  legends  beginning  with  "  Hier  rutt  in  Gott,"  or 
"  Her  under  hviler  stovit,"  and  sometimes  ending  with  the 
pathetic  "  Wunderschen  ist  unsre  Hoffnung."  The  fisher- 
men brought  the  coffin  to  the  newly-made  grave  ;  the 
women  standing  back  a  bit ;  old  Scarlett  MacDonald  stroking 
Mairi's  hair,  and  bidding  the  girl  control  her  frantic  grief, 
though  the  old  woman  herself  could  hardly  speak  for  her 
tears  and  her  lamentations.  He  could  read  the  words 
"  Sheila  Mackenzie  "  on  the  small  silver  plate  :  she  had  been 
taken  away  from  all  association  with  him  and  his  name. 
And  who  was  this  old  man  with  the  white  hair  and  the  white 
beard,  whose  hands  were  tightly  clenched,  and  his  lips  firm, 
and  a  look  as  of  death  in  the  sunken  and  wild  eyes  ? 
Mackenzie  was  grey  a  year  before 

"  Ingram,"  he  said,  suddenly,  and  his  voice  startled  his 
companion,  "  do  you  think  it  possible  to  make  Sheila  happy 
again  ?  " 

"  How  can  I  tell  ?  "  said  Ingram. 

"  You  used  to  know  everything  she  could  wish — every- 
thing she  was  thinking  about.  If  you  find  her  out  now, 
will  you  get  to  know  ?  Will  you  see  what  1  can  do — not 
by  asking  her  to  come  back,  not  by  trying  to  get  back  my 
own  happiness — but  anything,  it  does  not  matter  what  it  is, 
I  can  do  for  her  ?  If  she  would  rather  not  see  me  again,  I 
will  stay  away.  Will  you  ask  her,  Ingram  ?  " 

"  We  have  got  to  find  her  first,"  said  his  companion. 

"  A  young  girl  like  that,"  said  Lavender,  taking  no  heed 
of  the  objection,  "surely  she  cannot  always  be  unhappy. 
She  is  so  young  and  beautiful,  and  takes  so  much  interest  in 
many  things — surely  she  may  have  a  happy  life." 

"  She  might  have  had." 

"  I  don't  mean  with  me,"  said  Lavender,  with  his  haggard 
face  looking  still  more  haggard  in  the  increasing  light.  "  I 
mean  anything  that  'can  be  done — any  way  of  life  that  will 
make  her  comfortable  and  contented — anything  that  I  can 
do  for  that,  will  you  try  to  find  it  out,  Ingram  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes,  I  will,"  said  the  other,  who  had  been  thinking 


A  SURPRISE  333 

with  much  foreboding  of  all  these  possibilities  ever  since 
they  left  Sloane  Street,  his  only  gleam  of  hope  being  a 
consciousness  that  this  time  at  least  there  could  be  no  doubt 
of  Frank  Lavender's  absolute  sincerity,  of  his  remorse,  and 
his  almost  morbid  craving  to  make  reparation,  if  that  were 
still  possible. 

They  reached  the  house  at  last.  There  was  a  dim 
orange-coloured  glow  glimmering  in  the  passage.  Lavender 
went  on,  and  threw  open  the  small  room  which  Sheila  had 
adorned,  asking  Ingram  to  follow  him.  How  wild  and 
strange  this  chamber  looked,  with  the  wan  glare  of  the 
dawn  shining  in  on  its  barbaric  decorations  from  the  sea- 
coast — on  the  shells,  and  skins,  and  feathers  that  Sheila  had 
placed  around  !  That  white  light  of  the  morning  was  now 
breaking  everywhere  into  the  silent  and  desolate  house. 
Lavender  found  Ingram  a  bedroom ;  and  then  he  turned 
away,  not  knowing  what  to  do.  He  looked  into  Sheila's 
room  :  there  were  dresses,  bits  of  finery,  and  what  not,  that 
he  knew  so  well ;  but  there  was  no  soft  breathing  audible 
in  the  silent  and  empty  chamber.  He  shut  the  door,  as 
reverently  as  though  he  were  shutting  it  on  the  dead  ;  and 
went  down  stairs  and  threw  himself  almost  fainting  with 
despair  and  fatigue  on  a  sofa  ;  while  the  world  outside 
awoke  to  a  new  day,  with  all  its  countless  and  joyous 
activities  and  duties. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  SURPRISE. 

THERE  was  no  letter  from  Sheila  in  the  morning  ;  and  Lav- 
ender, so  soon  as  the  post  had  come  and  gone,  went  up  to 
Ingram's  room  and  woke  him. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  disturb  you,  Ingram,"  he  said  ;  "  but  I  am 
going  to  Lewis.  I  shall  catch  the  train  to  Glasgow  at  ten.'* 

"  And  what  do  you  want  to  get  to  Lewis  for  ?  "  said 
Ingram,  starting  up.  "  Do  you  think  Sheila  would  go 
straight  back  to  her  own  people  with  all  this  humiliation 
upon  her  ?  And  supposing  she  is  not  there,  how  do  you 
propose  to  meet  old  Mackenzie  ?  " 


334  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  meeting  any  man,"  said  Lavender. 
"  I  want  to  know  where  Sheila  is.  And  if  I  see  Mackenzie, 
I  can  only  tell  him  frankly  everything  that  has  happened. 
He  is  not  likely  to  say  anything  of  me  half  as  bad  as  what  I 
think  of  myself." 

"  Now  listen,"  said  Ingram,  sitting  up  in  bed,  with  his 
brown  beard  and  greyish  hair  in  a  considerably  dishevelled 
condition.  "  Sheila  may  have  gone  home  ;  but  it  isn't 
likely.  If  she  has  not,  your  taking  the  story  up  there,  and 
spreading  it  abroad,  would  prepare  a  great  deal  of  pain  for 
her  when  she  might  go  back  at  some  future  time.  But 
suppose  you  want  to  make  sure  that  she  has  not  gone  to  her 
father's  house.  She  could  not  have  got  down  to  Glasgow 
sooner  than  this  morning,  by  last  night's  train,  you  know. 
It  is  to-morrow  morning,  not  this  morning,  that  the  Storno- 
way  steamer  starts  ;  and  she  would  be  certain  to  go  direct  to 
it  at  the  Glasgow  Broomielaw,  and  go  round  the  Mull  of 
Cantyre  instead  of  catching  it  up  at  Oban  ;  because  she 
knows  the  people  in  the  boat,  and  she  and  Mairi  would  be 
among  friends.  If  you  really  want  to  know  whether  she 
has  gone  north,  perhaps  you  could  do  no  better  than  run 
down  to  Glasgow  to-day,  and  have  a  look  at  the  boat  that 
starts  to-moiTow  morning.  I  would  go  with  you  myself,  but 
I  can't  escape  the  office  to-day." 

Lavender  agreed  to  do  this  ;  and  was  about  to  go.  But 
before  he  bade  his  friend  good-bye,  he  lingered  for  a  second 
or  two  in  a  hesitating  way,  and  then  he  said — • 

"  Ingram,  you  were  speaking  the  other  night  of  your  going 
up  to  Borva.  If  you  should  go " 

"  Of  course  I  shan't  go,"  said  the  other,  promptly.  "  How 
could  I  face  Mackenzie  when  he  began  to  ask  me  about 
Sheila  ?  No,  I  cannot  go  to  Borva  while  this  affair  remains 
in  its  present  condition  ;  and,  indeed,  Lavender,  I  mean  to 
stop; in  London  till  I  see  you  out  of  your  trouble  somehow." 

"  You  are  heaping  coals  of  fire  on  my  head." 

"  Oh,  don't  look  at  it  in  that  way.  If  I  can  be  of  any  help 
to  you,  I  shall  expect,  this  time,  to  have  a  return  for  it." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  you  when  we  get  to  know  something  of  Sheila's 
intentions." 

And  so  Frank  Lavender  found  himself  once  more,  as  in 


A  SURPRISE.  335 

the  old  times,  in  the  Euston  Station,  with  the  Scotch  mail 
ready  to  start,  and  all  manner  of  folks  bustling  about  with 
that  unnecessary  activity  which  betokens  the  excitement  of 
a  holiday.  What  a  strange  holiday  was  his  !  He  got  into 
a  smoking-carriage  in  order  to  be  alone  ;  and  he  looked  out 
on  the  crowd  who  were  bidding  their  friends  good-bye.  Some 
of  them  were  not  very  pretty  ;  many  of  them  were  ordinary, 
insignificant,  commonplace-looking  people  ;  but  it  was  clear 
that  they  had  those  about  them  who  loved  them  and  thought 
much  of  them.  There  was  one  man  whom,  in  other  cir- 
cumstances, Lavender  would  have  dismissed  with  contempt 
as  an  excellent  specimen  of  the  unmitigated  cad.  He  wore 
a  white  waistcoat,  purple  gloves,  and  a  green  sailor's  knot 
with  a  diamond  in  it ;  and  there  was  a  cheery,  vacuous, 
smiling  expression  on  his  round  face  as  he  industriously 
smoked  a  cheroot  and  made  small  jokes  to  the  friends  who 
had  come  to  see  him  off.  One  of  them  was  a  young  woman, 
not  very  good-looking,  perhaps,  who  did  not  join  in  the 
general  hilarity  ;  and  it  occurred  to  Lavender  that  the  jovial 
man  with  the  cheroot  was  perhaps  cracking  his  Little  jokes  to 
keep  up  her  spirits.  At  all  events  he  called  her  "  my  good 
lass  "  from  time  to  time  ;  and  patted  her  on  the  shoulder  ; 
and  was  very  kind  to  her.  And  when  the  guard  came  up, 
and  bade  everybody  get  in,  the  man  kissed  the  girl,  and 
shook  hands  with  her,  and  bade  her  good-bye  ;  and  then 
she,  moved  by  some  sudden  impulse,  caught  his  face  in  both 
her  hands  and  kissed  him  once  on  each  cheek.  It  was  a 
ridiculous  scene.  People  who  wear  green  ties  with  diamond 
pins  care  nothing  for  decorum.  And  yet  Lavender,  when  he 
averted  his  eyes  from  this  parting,  could  not  help  recalling 
what  Ingram  had  been  saying  the  night  before,  and 
wondered  whether  this  outrageous  person,  with  his  abomin- 
able decorations  and  his  genial  grin,  might  not  be  more  for- 
tunate than  many  a  great  statesman,  or  warrior,  or  monarch. 
He  turned  round  to  find  the  cad  beside  him  :  and  presently 
the  man,  with  an  abounding  good  nature,  began  to  converse 
with  him,  and  explained  that  it  was  'igh  'oliday  with  him,  for 
that  he  had  got  a  pass  to  travel  first-class  as  far  as  Carlisle. 
He  hoped  they  would  have  a  jolly  time  of  it  together.  He 
explained  the  object  of  his  journey  in  the  frankest  possible 
fashion  ;  made  a  kindly  little  joke  upon  the  hardship  of  part- 


336  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

ing  with  one's  sweetheart  :  said  that  a  faint  heart  never  won 
fair  lady  ;  and  that  it  was  no  good  crying  over  spilt  milk. 
She  would  be  all  right,  and  precious  glad  to  see  him  back  in 
three  weeks'  time  ;  and  he  meant  to  bring  her  a  present  that 
would  be  good  for  sore  eyes. 

"  Perhaps  you're  a  married  man,  sir,  and  got  past  all  them 
games  ?  "  said  the  cad,  cheerily. 

"  Yes,  I  am  married,"  said  Lavender,  coldly. 

"  And  you're  going  further  than  Carlisle,  you  say,  sir  ?  I'll 
be  sworn  the  good  lady  is  up  somewhere  in  that  direction  ; 
and  she  won't  be  disappointed  when  she  sees  you — oh  no  ! 
Scotch,  sir  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  Scotch,"  said  Lavender,  curtly. 

"  And  she  ?  " 

Should  he  have  to  throw  the  man  out  of  the  window  ? 

"  Yes." 

"  The  Scotch  are  a  strange  race — very,"  said  the  genial 
person,  producing  a  brandy  flask.  "  They  drink  a  trifle, 
don't  they  ?  and  yet  they  keep  their  wits  about  them  if 
you've  dealings  with  them.  A  very  strange  race  of  people 
in  my  opinion — very.  Know  the  story,  of  the  master 
who  fancied  his  man  was  drunk  ?  '  Donald,  you're 
trunk,'  says  he.  '  It's  a  tarn  lee,'  says  Donald.  '  Donald, 
ye  ken  ye're  trunk  ! '  says  the  master.  '  Ah  ken  ah  wish 
to  Kott  ah  wass ! '  says  Donald.  Good  story,  ain't 
it,  sir  ?  " 

Lavender  had  heard  the  remarkable  old  joke  a  hundred 
times  ;  but  just  at  this  moment  there  was  something  odd  in 
this  vulgar  person  suddenly  imitating,  and  imitating  very 
well,  the  Highland  accent.  Had  he  been  away  in  the  north  ? 
or  had  he  merely  heard  the  story  related  by  one  who  had  been  ? 
Lavender  dared  not  ask,  however,  for  fear  of  prolonging  a 
conversation  in  which  he  had  no  wish  to  join.  Indeed,  to 
get  rid  of  the  man,  he  shoved  a  whole  bundle  of  the  morning 
papers  into  his  hands. 

"  What's  your  opinion  of  politics  at  present,  sir  ? " 
observed  his  friend,  in  an  off-hand  way. 

"  I  haven't  any,"  said  Lavender,  compelled  to  take  back 
one  of  the  newspapers,  and  open  it. 

"I  think,  myself,  they're  in  a  bad  state.  That's  my 
opinion.  There  ain't  a  man  among  'em  who  knows  how  to 


A  SURPRISE  337 

keep  down  those  people.  That's  my  opinion,  sir.  What  do 
you  think  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  think  so  too,"  said  Lavender.  "  You'll  find  a 
good  article  in  that  paper  on  University  Tests." 

The  cheery  person  looked  rather  blank. 

"  I  would  like  to  hear  your  opinion  about  'em,  sir,"  he 
said.  "  It  ain't  much  good  reading  only  one  side  of  the 
question  ;  but  when  you  can  talk  about  it  and  discuss  it, 
now " 

"  I  am  sorry  I  can't  oblige  you,"  said  Lavender,  goaded 
into  making  some  desperate  effort  to  release  himself.  "  I 
am  suffering  from  relaxed  throat  at  present.  My  doctor 
has  warned  me  against  talking  too  much." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir.  You  don't  seem  very  well — per- 
haps the  throat  comes  with  a  little  feverishness,  you  see — a 
cold,  in  fact.  Now,  if  I  was  you,  I'd  try  tannin  lozenges  for 
the  throat.  They're  uncommon  good  for  the  throat ;  and  a 
little  quinine  for  the  general  system — that  would  put  you  as 
right  as  a  fiver.  I  tried  it  myself  when  I  was  down  in  'Amp- 
shire  last  year.  And  you  wouldn't  find  a  drop  of  this  brandy 
a  bad  thing  either,  if  you  don't  mind  rowing  in  the  same 
boat  as  myself." 

Lavender  declined  the  proffered  flask,  and  subsided  behind 
a  newspaper.  His  fellow-traveller  lit  another  cheroot,  took 
up  Bradshaw,  and  settled  himself  in  a  corner. 

Had  Sheila  come  along  this  very  line  some  dozen  hours 
before  ?  Lavender  asked  himself,  as  he  looked  out  on  the 
hills,  and  valleys,  and  woods  of  Buckinghamshire  Had  the 
throbbing  of  the  engine  and  the  rattle  of  the  wheels  kept 
the  piteous  eyes  awake  all  through  the  dark  night,  until  the 
pale  dawn  showed  the  girl  a  wild  vision  of  northern  hills  and 
moors,  telling  her  she  was  getting  near  to  her  own  country  ? 
Not  thus  had  Sheila  proposed  to  herself  to  return  home  on 
the  first  holiday  time  that  should  occur  to  them  both.  He 
began  to  think  of  his  present  journey  as  it  might  have  been 
in  other  circumstances.  Would  she  have  remembered  any 
of  those  pretty  villages  which  she  saw  one  early  morning, 
long  ago,  when  they  were  bathed  in  sunshine,  and  scarcely 
awake  to  the  new  day  ?  Would  she  be  impatient  at  the 
delays  at  the  stations,  and  anxious  to  hurry  on  to  Westmore- 
land, and  Carlisle,  to  Glasgow,  and  Oban,  and  Skye,  and  then 

z 


338  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

from  Stornoway  across  the  island  to  the  little  inn  at  Garra- 
na-hina  ?  Here,  as  he  looked  out  of  the  window,  the  first 
indication  of  the  wilder  country  became  visible  in  the  dis- 
tant Berkshire  hills.  Close  at  hand  the  country  lay  green  and 
bright  under  a  brilliant  sun  ;  but  over  there  in  the  east,  some 
heavy  clouds  darkened  the  landscape  ;  and  the  far  hills 
seemed  to  be  placed  amid  a  gloomy  stretch  of  moorland. 
Would  not  Sheila  have  been  thrilled  by  this  glimpse  of  the 
coming  North  ?  She  would  have  fancied  that  greater 
mountains  lay  far  behind  these  rounded  slopes,  hidden  in 
mist.  She  would  have  imagined  that  no  human  habitations 
were  near  those  rising  plains  of  sombre  hue,  where  the  red- 
deer  and  the  fox  ought  to  dwell.  And  in  her  delight  at 
getting  away  from  the  fancied  brightness  of  the  south,  would 
she  not  have  been  exceptionally  grateful  and  affectionate 
towards  himself,  and  striven  to  please  him  with  her  tender 
ways  ? 

It  was  not  a  cheerful  journey — this  lonely  trip  to  the 
North.  Lavender  got  to  Glasgow  that  night ;  and  next 
morning  he  went  down,  long  before  any  passengers  could 
have  thought  of  arriving,  to  the  Clansman.  He  did  not  go 
near  the  big  steamer,  for  he  was  known  to  the  captain  and 
the  steward  ;  but  he  hung  about  the  quays,  watching  each 
person  who  went  on  board.  Sheila  certainly  was  not  among 
the  passengers  by  the  Clansman. 

But  she  might  have  gone  to  Greenock,  and  waited  for  the 
steamer  there.  Accordingly,  after  the  Clansman  had  started 
on  her  voyage,  he  went  into  a  neighbouring  hotel  and  had 
some  breakfast ;  after  which  he  crossed  the  bridge  to  the 
station,  and  took  rail  for  Greenock  ;  where  he  arrived  some 
time  before  the  Clansman  made  her  appearance.  He  walked 
down  to  the  quay.  It  was  yet  early  morning,  and  a  cool 
fresh  breeze  was  blowing  in  across  the  broad  waters  of  the 
Firth,  where  the  sunlight  was  shining  on  the  white  sails  of 
the  yachts  and  on  the  dipping  and  screaming  sea-gulls.  Far 
away  beyond  the  pale  blue  mountains  opposite  lay  the 
wonderful  network  of  loch  and  island  through  which  one 
had  to  pass  to  get  to  the  distant  Lewis.  How  gladly,  at 
this  moment,  would  he  have  stepped  on  board  the  steamer, 
with  Sheila,  and  put  out  on  that  gleaming  plain  of  sea, 
knowing  that  by  and  by  they  would  sail  into  Stornoway 


A  SURPRISE  339 

harbour  and  find  the  waggonette  there.  They  would  not 
hasten  the  voyage.  She  had  never  been  round  the  Mull  of 
Cantyre  ;  and  so  he  would  sit  by  her  side,  and  show  her  the 
wild  tides  meeting  there,  and  the  long  jets  of  white  foam 
shooting  up  the  great  wall  of  rocks.  He  would  show  her 
the  pale  coast  of  Ireland  ;  and  then  they  would  see  Islay,  of 
which  she  had  many  a  ballad  and  story.  They  would  go 
through  the  narrow  Sound  that  is  overlooked  by  the  gloomy 
mountains  of  Jura.  They  would  behold  the  distant  island 
where  the  chief  of  Colonsay  is  still  mourned  for  on  the  still 
evenings,  by  the  hapless  mermaiden  who  sings  her  wild  song 
across  the  sea.  They  would  keep  wide  of  the  dangerous 
currents  of  Corryvreckan  ;  and  by  and  by  they  would  sail 
into  the  harbour  of  Oban,  the  beautiful  town  where  Sheila 
hrst  got  a  notion  of  the  greatness  of  the  world  lying  outside 
her  native  island. 

What  if  she  were  to  come  down  now  from  this  busy  little 
seaport,  which  lay  under  a  pale  blue  smoke,  and  come  out 
upon  this  pier  to  meet  the  fresh  sunlight  and  the  fresh  sea- 
air  blowing  all  about  ?  Surely  at  a  great  distance  he  could 
recognize  the  proud,  light  step,  and  the  proud,  sad  face. 
Would  she  speak  to  him  ;  or  go  past  him,  with  firm  lips  and 
piteous  eyes,  to  wait  for  the  big  steamer  that  was  now 
coming  along  out  of  the  eastern  mist  ?  Lavender  glanced 
vaguely  round  the  quays  and  the  thoroughfares  leading  to 
them ;  but  there  was  no  one  like  Sheila  there.  In  the 
distance  he  could  hear  the  throbbing  of  the  Clansman's 
engines,  as  the  steamer  came  on  through  the  yellow  plain. 
The  sun  was  warmer  now  on  the  bright  waters  of  the  Firth  ; 
and  the  distant  haze  over  the  pale  blue  mountains  beyond 
had  grown  more  luminous.  Small  boats  went  by  ;  with 
here  and  there  a  yachtsman,  scarlet-capped,  and  in  white 
costume,  taking  a  leisurely  breakfast  on  deck.  The  sea-gulls 
circled  about,  or  dipped  down  on  the  waters,  or  chased  each 
other  with  screams  and  cries.  Then  the  Clansman  sailed 
into  the  quay,  and  there  was  a  flinging  of  ropes,  and  general 
hurry  and  bustle,  while  people  came  crowding  round  the 
gangways,  calling  out  to  each  other  in  every  variety  of 
dialect  and  accent. 

Sheila  was  not  there.  He  lingered  about,  and  patiently 
waited  for  the  starting  of  the  steamer,  not  knowing  how 

z  2 


340  '.A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

long  she  ordinarily  remained  at  Greenock.  He  was  in  no 
hurry,  indeed  ;  for  after  the  vessel  had  gone,  he  found 
himself  with  a  whole  day  before  him,  and  with  no  fixed 
notion  as  to  how  it  could  be  passed. 

In  other  circumstances,  he  would  have  been  in  no  difficulty 
as  to  the  spending  of  a  bright  morning  and  afternoon  by 
the  side  of  the  sea.  Or  he  could  have  run  through  to 
Edinburgh,  and  called  on  some  artist-friends  there.  Or  he 
could  have  crossed  the  Firth,  and  had  a  day's  ramble  among 
the  hills.  But  now  that  he  was  satisfied  Sheila  had  not 
gone  home,  all  his  fancies  and  hopes  went  back  to  London. 
She  was  in  London.  And  while  he  was  glad  she  had  not 
gone  straight  to  her  own  people  with  a  revelation  of  her 
wrongs,  he  scarcely  dared  speculate  on  what  adventures  and 
experiences  might  have  befallen  those  two  girls  turned  out 
into  a  great  city,  of  which  they  were  about  equally  ignorant. 

The  day  passed  somehow,  and  at  night  he  was  on  his  way 
to  London.  Next  morning  he  went  down  to  Whitehall,  and 
saw  Ingram. 

"  Sheila  has  not  gone  back  to  the  Highlands,  so  far  as  I 
can  make  out,"  he  said. 

"  So  much  the  better,"  was  the  answer. 

"  What  am  I  to  do  ?  She  must  be  in  London  ;  and  who 
knows  what  may  befall  her  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  what  you  should  do.  Of  course  you 
would  like  to  know  where  she  is  ;  and  I  fancy  she  would  have 
no  objection  herself  to  letting  you  know  that  she  is  all  right, 
so  long  as  she  knew  that  you  would  not  go  near  her.  I  don't 
think  she  has  taken  so  decided  a  step  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  being  coaxed  back  again — that  is  not  Sheila's  way." 

"  I  won't  go  near  her,"  he  said.  > "  I  only  want  to  know  that 
she  is  safe  and  well.  I  will  do  whatever  she  likes ;  but  I 
must  know  where  she  is,  and  that  she  has  come  to  no  harm." 

"  Well,"  said  Ingram,  slowly,  "  I  was  talking  the  matter 
over  with  Mrs.  Lorraine  last  night •" 

"  Does  she  know  ?  "  said  Lavender,  wincing  somewhat. 

"  Certainly,"  Ingram  answered.  "  I  did  not  tell  her.  I 
had  promised  to  go  up  there  about  something  quite  different, 
when  she  immediately  began  to  tell  me  the  news.  Of 
course  it  was  impossible  to  conceal  such  a  thing.  Don't  all 
the  servants  about  know  ?  " 


A  SURPRISE  341 

"  I  don't  care  who  knows,"  said  Lavender,  moodily. 
"  What  does  Mrs.  Lorraine  say  about  this  affair  ?  " 

"  Mrs.  Lorraine  says  that  it  serves  you  right,"  said  Ingram, 
bluntly. 

"  Thank  her  very  much.  I  like  candour,  especially  in  a 
fair-weather  friend." 

"  Mrs.  Lorraine  is  a  better  friend  to  you  than  you 
imagine,"  Ingram  said,  taking  no  notice  of  the  sneer. 
"  When  she  thought  that  your  going  to  their  house  con- 
tinually was  annoying  Sheila,  she  tried  to  put  a  stop  to  it 
for  Sheila's  sake.  And  now,  at  this  very  moment,  she  is 
doing  her  very  best  to  find  out  where  Sheila  is  ;  and  if  she 
succeeds,  she  means  to  go  and  plead  your  cause  with  the 
girl." 

"I  will  not  have  her  do  anything  of  the  kind,"  said 
Lavender,  fiercely.  "  I  will  plead  my  own  cause  with 
Sheila.  I  will  have  forgiveness  from  Sheila  herself  alone — 
not  brought  to  me  by  any  intermeddling  woman." 

"  You  needn't  call  names,"  said  Ingram,  coolly,  "  But  I 
confess  I  think  you  are  right ;  and  I  told  Mrs.  Lorraine  that 
was  what  you  would  doubtless  say.  In  any  case,  she  can  do 
no  harm  in  trying  to  find  out  where  Sheila  is." 

"  And  how  does  she  propose  to  succeed  ?  Pollaky  ?  The 
'  Agony '  Column  ?  Placards,  or  a  Bellman  ?  I  tell  you, 
Ingram,  I  won't  have  that  woman  meddle  in  my  affairs — 
coming  forward  as  a  sister  of  mercy  to  heal  the  wounded — 
bestowing  mock  compassion,  and  laughing  all  the  time " 

"  Lavender,  you  are  beside  yourself.  That  woman  is  one 
of  the  most  good-natured,  shrewd,  clever,  and  amiable  women 
I  have  ever  met.  What  has  enraged  you  ?  " 

"  Bah  !  She  has  got  hold  of  you  too,  has  she  ?  I  tell  you 
she  is  a  rank  impostor." 

"  An  impostor  !  "  said  Ingram,  slowly.  "  I  have  heard  a 
good  many  people  called  impostors.  Did  it  ever  occur  to  you 
that  the  blame  of  the  imposture  might  possibly  lie  with  the 
person  imposed  on  ?  I  have  heard  of  people  falling  into  the 
delusion  that  a  certain  modest  and  simple-minded  man  was 
a  great  politician  or  a  great  wit,  although  he  had  never 
claimed  to  be  anything  of  the  kind  ;  and  then,  when  they 
found  out  that  in  truth  he  was  nothing  more  than  himself, 
they  called  out  against  him  as  an  impostor.  I  have  heard, 


342  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

too,  of  young  gentlemen  accusing  women  of  imposture 
whose  only  crime  was,  that  they  did  not  possess  qualities 
which  they  had  never  pretended  to  possess,  but  which  the 
young  gentlemen  fancied  they  ought  to  possess.  Mrs. 
Lorraine  may  be  an  impostor  to  you.  I  think  she  is  a 
thoroughly  good  woman  ;  and  I  know  she  is  a  very  delight- 
ful companion.  And  if  you  want  to  hear  how  she  means  to 
find  Sheila  out,  I  can  tell  you.  She  thinks  that  Sheila  would 
probably  go  to  an  hotel ;  but  that  afterwards  she  would  try 
to  find  lodgings  with  some  of  the  people  whom  she  had  got 
to  know  through  her  giving  them  assistance.  Mrs.  Lorraine 
would  like  to  ask  your  servants  about  the  women  who  used 
to  come  for  this  help.  Then,  she  thinks,  Sheila  would 
probably  get  some  one  of  these  humble  friends  to  call  for 
her  letters  ;  for  she  would  like  to  hear  from  her  father,  and 
she  would  not  care  to  tell  him  that  she  had  left  your  house. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  supposition  in  all  this  ;  but  Mrs. 
Lorraine  is  a  shrewd  women,  and  I  would  trust  her  instinct 
in  such  matters  a  long  way.  She  is  quite  sure  that  Sheila 
would  be  too  proud  to  tell  her  father  ;  and  very  much  averse, 
also,  to  inflicting  so  severe  a  blow  on  him " 

"  But  surely,"  Lavender  said,  hastily,  "  if  Sheila  wishes 
to  conceal  this  affair  for  a  time,  she  must  believe  it  to  be 
only  temporary  ?  She  cannot  propose  to  make  the  separation 
final  ?  " 

"That  I  don't  know  anything  about.  I  would  advise 
you  to  go  and  see  Mrs.  Lorraine." 

"  I  will  not  go  and  see  Mrs.  Lorraine." 

"  Now,  this  is  unreasonable,  Lavender.  You  begin  to 
fancy  that  Sheila  had  some  sort  of  dislike  to  Mrs.  Lorraine, 
founded  on  ignorance  ;  and  straightway  you  think  it  is  your 
duty  to  go  and  hate  the  woman.  Whatever  you  may  think 
of  her,  she  is  willing  to  do  you  a  service." 

"  Will  you  go,  Ingram,  and  take  her  to  those  servants  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  I  will,  if  you  commission  me  to  do  so,"  said 
Ingram,  readily. 

"  I  suppose  they  all  know  ?  " 

"  They  do." 

"  And  every  one  else  ?  " 

"I  should  think  few  of  jour  friends  would  remain  in 
ignorance  of  it." 


A  SURPRISE  343 

"  Ah,  well,"  said  Lavender,  "  if  only  I  could  get  Sheila 
to  overlook  what  is  past,  this  once,  I  should  not  trouble  my 
dear  friends  and  acquaintances  for  their  sympathy  and 
condolence.  By  the  time  I  saw  them  again,  I  fancy  they 
would  have  forgotten  our  names." 

There  was  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  the  news  of  Sheila's 
flight  from  her  husband's  house  had  travelled  very  speedily 
round  the  circle  of  Lavender's  friends,  and  doubtless,  in  due 
time,  it  reached  the  ears  of  his  aunt.  At  all  events,  Mrs. 
Lavender  sent  a  message  to  Ingram,  asking  him  to  come 
and  see  her.  When  he  went,  he  found  the  little,  dry,  hard- 
eyed  woman  in  a  terrible  passion.  She  had  forgotten  all 
about  Marcus  Aurelius,  and  the  composure  of  a  philosopher, 
and  the  effect  of  anger  on  the  nervous  system.  She  was 
bolstered  up  in  bed,  for  she  had  had  another  bad  fit ;  but 
she  was  brisk  enough  in  her  manner  and  fierce  enough  in 
her  language. 

"Mr.  Ingram,"  she  said,  the  moment  he  had  entered, 
"  do  you  consider  my  nephew  a  beast  ?  " 

"  I  don't,"  he  said. 

"  I  do,"  she  retorted. 

"  Then  you  are  quite  mistaken,  Mi's.  Lavender.  Probably 
you  have  heard  some  exaggerated  story  of  all  this  business. 
He  has  been  very  inconsiderate  and  thoughtless,  certainly  ; 
but  I  don't  believe  he  quite  knew  how  sensitive  his  wife 
was ;  and  he  is  very  repentant  now,  and  I  know  he  will 
keep  his  promises." 

"  You  would  apologize  for  the  devil,"  said  the  little  old 
woman,  frowning. 

"  I  would  try  to  give  him  his  due,  at  all  events,"  said 
Ingram,  with  a  laugh.  "  I  know  Frank  Lavender  very 
well — I  have  known  him  for  years ;  and  I  know  there  is 
good  stuff  in  him,  which  may  be  developed  in  proper 
circumstances.  After  all,  what  is  there  more  common  than 
for  a  married  man  to  neglect  his  wife  ?  He  only  did 
unconsciously  and  thoughtlessly  what  heaps  of  men  do 
deliberately." 

"  You  are  making  me  angry,"  said  Mrs.  Lavender,  in  a 
stern  voice. 

"  I  don't  think  it  fair  to  expect  men  to  be  demigods," 
Ingram  said,  carelessly.  "  I  never  met  any  demigods 


344  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULR 

myself  ;  they  don't  live  in  my  neighbourhood.  Perhaps  if 
I  had  had  some  experience  of  a  batch  of  them,  I  should  be 
more  censorious  of  other  people.  If  you  set  up  Frank  for 
a  Bayard,  is  it  his  fault,  or  yours  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  going  to  be  talked  out  of  my  common  sense, 
and  me  on  my  death-bed,"  said  the  old  lady,  impatiently, 
and  yet  with  some  secret  hope  that  Ingram  would  go  on 
talking  and  amuse  her.  "  I  won't  have  you  say  he  is  any- 
thing but  a  stupid  and  ungrateful  boy,  who  married  a  wife 
far  too  good  for  him.  He  is  worse  than  that — he  is  much 
worse  than  that ;  but  as  this  may  be  my  death-bed,  I  will 
keep  a  civil  tongue  in  my  head." 

"  I  thought  you  did  not  like  his  wife  very  much  ?  "  said 
Ingram. 

"  I  am  not  bound  to  like  her  because  I  think  badly  of 
him,  am  I  ?  She  was  not  a  bad  sort  of  girl,  after  all — • 
temper  a  little  stiff,  perhaps  ;  but  she  was  honest.  It  did 
one's  eyes  good  to  look  at  her  bright  face.  Yes,  she  was  a 
good  sort  of  creature  in  her  way.  But  when  she  ran  off 
from  him,  why  didn't  she  come  to  me  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  you  never  encouraged  her." 

"  Encouragement  !  Where  ought  a  married  woman  go 
to  but  to  her  husband's  relatives  ?  If  she  cannot  stay  with 
him,  let  her  take  the  next  best  substitute.  It  was  her  duty 
to  come  to  me." 

"  If  Sheila  had  fancied  it  to  be  her  duty,  she  would  have 
come  here,  at  any  cost." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  Mr.  Ingram  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Lavender, 
severely. 

"Well,  supposing  she  didn't  like  you "  he  was 

beginning  to  say,  cautiously,  when  she  sharply  interrupted 
him. 

"  She  didn't  like  me,  eh  ? " 

"  I  said  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  was  about  to  say  that  if 
she  had  thought  it  her  duty  to  come  here,  she  would  have 
come,  in  any  circumstances." 

"  She  might  have  done  worse.  A  young  woman  risks  a 
great  deal  in  running  away  from  her  husband's  home. 
People  will  talk.  Who  is  to  make  people  believe  just  the 
version  of  the  story  that  the  husband  or  wife  would  prefer  ?  " 

"  And  what  does  Sheila  care,"  said  Ingram,  with  a  hot 


A  SURPRISE  345 

flush  in  his  face,  "  for  the  belief  of  a  lot  of  idle  gossips  and 
slanderers  ?  " 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Ingram,"  said  the  old  lady,  "  you  are  not 
a  woman,  and  you  don't  know  the  bother  one  has  to  look 
after  one's  reputation.  But  that  is  a  question  not  likely  to 
interest  you.  Let  us  talk  of  something  else.  Do  you 
know  why  I  wanted  you  to  come  and  see  me  to-day  ?  " 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't." 

"  I  mean  to  leave  you  all  my  money." 

He  stared.  She  did  not  appear  to  be  joking.  Was  it 
possible  that  her  rage  against  her  nephew  had  carried  her  to 
this  extreme  resolve  ? 

"  Oh ! "  he  stammered  ;  "  but  I  won't  have  it,  Mrs. 
Lavender." 

"  But  you'll  have  to  have  it,"  said  the  little  old  woman, 
peremptorily.  "You  are  a  poor  man.  You  could  make 
good  use  of  my  money — better  than  a  charity  board — that 
would  starve  the  poor  with  a  penny  out  of  each  shilling,  and 
spend  the  other  elevenpence  in  treating  their  friends  to 
flower-shows  and  dinners.  Do  you  think  I  mean  to  leave 
my  money  to  such  people  ?  Yrou  shall  have  it.  I  think 
you  would  look  very  well  driving  a  mail-phaeton  in  the 
Park  ;  and  I  suppose  you  would  give  up  your  pipes,  and 
your  philosophy,  and  your  bachelor  walks  into  the  country. 
You  would  marry,  of  course — every  man  is  bound  to  make 
a  fool  of  himself  in  that  way,  as  soon  as  he  gets  enough 
money  to  do  it  with.  But  perhaps  you  might  come  across 
a  clever  and  sensible  woman,  who  would  look  after  you,  and 
give  you  your  own  way  while  having  her  own.  Only  don't 
marry  a  fool.  Whatever  you  do,  don't  marry  a  fool,  or 
all  your  philosophers  won't  make  the  house  bearable  to 
you." 

"  I  am  not  likely  to  marry  anybody,  Mrs.  Lavender,"  said 
Ingram,  indifferently. 

"  Is  there  no  woman  you  know  whom  you  would  care  to 
marry  ?  " 

"  Oh,"  he  said,  "  there  is  one  woman — yes — who  seems  to 
me  about  everything  that  a  man  could  wish ;  but  the 
notion  of  my  marrying  her  is  absurd.  If  I  had  known  in 
time,  don't  you  see,  that  I  should  ever  think  of  such  a 
thing,  I  should  have  begun  years  ago  to  dye  my  hair.  I 


346  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

can't  begin  now.  Grey  hair  inspires  reverence,  I  believe  ; 
but  it's  a  bad  thing  to  go  courting  with." 

"  You  must  not  talk  foolishly,"  said  the  little  old  lady, 
with  a  frown.  "  Do  you  think  a  sensible  woman  wants  to 
marry  a  boy,  who  will  torment  her  with  his  folly,  and  his 
empty  head,  and  his  running  after  a  dozen  different  women  ? 
Grey  hair !  If  you  think  grey  hair  is  a  bad  thing  to  go 
courting  with,  I  will  give  you  something  better.  I  will  put 
something  in  your  hand  that  will  make  the  young  lady  forget 
your  grey  hair.  Oh,  of  course,  you  will  say  that  she  cannot 
be  tempted  ;  that  she  despises  money.  If  so,  so  much  the 
better  ;  but  I  have  known  more  women  than  you,  and  my 
hair  is  greyer  than  yours  ;  and  you  will  find  that  a  little 
money  won't  stand  in  the  way  of  your  being  accepted." 

He  had  made  some  gesture  of  protest,  not  against  her 
speaking  of  his  possible  marriage,  which  scarcely  interested 
him,  so  remote  was  the  possibility,  but  against  her  returning 
to  this  other  proposal.  And  when  he  saw  the  old  woman 
really  meant  to  do  this  thing,  he  found  it  necessary  to 
declare  himself  explicitly  on  the  point. 

"  Oh,  don't  imagine,  Mrs.  Lavender,"  he  said,  "  that  I 
have  any  wild  horror  of  money,  or  that  I  suppose  anybody 
else  would  have.  I  should  like  to  have  five  times,  or  ten 
times  as  much  as  you  seem  generously  disposed  to  give 
me.  But  here  is  the  point,  you  see.  I  am  a  vain  person. 
I  am  very  proud  of  my  own  opinion  of  myself  ;  and,  if  I 
acceded  to  what  you  propose — if  I  took  your  money — I  sup- 
pose I  should  be  driving  about  in  that  fine  phaeton  you  speak 
of.  That  is  very  good — I  like  driving,  and  I  should  be 
pleased  with  the  appearance  of  the  trap  and  the  horses.  But 
what  do  you  fancy  I  should  think  of  myself — what  would  be 
my  opinion  of  my  own  nobleness,  and  generosity,  and 
humanity — if  I  saw  Sheila  Mackenzie  walking  by  on  the 
pavement,  without  any  carriage  to  drive  in,  perhaps  without 
a  notion  as  to  where  she  was  going  to  get  her  dinner  ?  I 
should  be  a  great  hero  to  myself  then,  shouldn't  I  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Sheila  again  ! "  said  the  old  woman,  in  a  tone  of 
vexation.  "  I  can't  imagine  what  there  is  in  that  girl  to 
make  men  rave  so  about  her.  That  Jew-boy  is  become  a 
thorough  nuisance — you  would  fancy  she  had  just  stepped 
down  out  of  the  clouds  to  present  him  with  a  gold  harp,  and 


A  SURPRISE  347 

that  he  couldn't  look  up  to  her  face.  And  you  are  just  as 
bad.  You  are  worse — for  you  don't  blow  it  off  in  steam. 
Well,  there  need  be  no  difficulty.  I  mean  to  leave  the  girl 
in  your  charge.  You  take  the  money  and  look  after  her — I 
know  she  won't  starve.  Take  it  in  trust  for  her,  if  you  like." 
"  But  that  is  a  fearful  responsibility,  Mrs.  Lavender,"  he 
said,  in  dismay.  "  She  is  a  married  woman.  Her  husband 

is  the  proper  person •" 

"  I  tell  you  I  won't  give  him  a  farthing  !  "  she  said,  with 
a  sudden  sharpness  that  startled  him.  "  Not  a  farthing  !  If 
he  wants  money,  let  him  work  for  it,  as  other  people  do  ; 
and  then,  when  he  has  done  that,  if  he  is  to  have  any  of  my 
money,  he  must  be  beholden  for  it  to  his  wife  and  to  you." 

"  L)o  you  think  that  Sheila  would  accept  anything  that 
she  would  not  immediately  hand  over  to  him  ?  " 
"  Then  he  must  come  first  to  you." 
"  I  have  no  wish  to  inflict  humiliation  on  any  one,"  said 
Ingram,  stiffly.     "  I  don't  wish  to  play  the  part  of  a  little 
Providence,  and  mete  out  punishment  in  that  way.     I  might 
have  to  begin  with  myself." 

"Now,  don't  be  perverse,"  said  the  old  lady,  with  a 
menacing  composure.  "  I  give  you  fair  warning.  The  next 
fit  will  do  for  me.  If  you  don't  care  to  take  my  money,  and 
keep  it  in  trust  for  this  girl  you  profess  to  care  so  much 
about,  I  will  leave  it  to  found  an  institution.  And  I  have 
a  good  idea  for  an  institution,  mind  you.  I  mean  to  teach 
people  what  they  should  eat  and  drink,  and  the  various 
effects  of  food  on  various  constitutions." 

"  It  is  an  important  subject,"  Ingram  admitted. 
"  Is  it  not  ?  What  is  the  use  of  giving  people  laborious 
information  about  the  idle  fancies  of  generations  that  lived 
centuries  before  they  were  born,  while  you  are  letting  them 
poison  their  system,  and  lay  up  for  themselves  a  fearfully 
painful  old  age,  by  the  continuous  use  of  unsuitable  food  ? 
That  book  you  gave  me,  Mr.  Ingram,  is  a  wonderful  book  ; 
but  it  affords  you  little  consolation  if  you  know  another  fit 
is  coming  on.  And  what  is  the  good  of  reading  about 
Epictetus,  and  Zeno,  and  the  rest,  if  you've  got  rheumatism  ? 
Now  I  mean  to  have  classes,  to  teach  people  what  they  should 
eat  and  drink — and  I'll  do  it,  if  you  won't  assume  the 
guardianship  of  my  nephew's  wife." 


348  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  But  this  is  the  wildest  notion  I  ever  heard  of  !  "  Ingram 
protested  again.  "  How  can  I  take  charge  of  her  ?  If 
Sheila  herself  had  shown  any  disposition  to  place  herself  under 
your  care,  it  might  have  been  different." 

"  Oh,  it  would  have  been  different  !  "  cried  the  old  lady, 
with  a  shrill  laugh.  "  It  would  have  been  different !  And 
what  did  you  say  about  her  sense  of  duty  to  her  husband's 
relatives  ?  Did  you  say  anything  about  that  ?  " 

"  Well "  Ingram  was  about  to  say,  being  lost  in  amaze- 
ment at  the  odd  glee  of  this  withered  old  creature. 

"  Where  do  you  think  a  young  wife  should  go,  if  she  runs 
off  from  her  husband's  house  ? "  cried  Mrs.  Lavender, 
apparently  much  amused  by  his  perplexity.  "  Where  can 
she  best  escape  calumny  ?  Poor  man  !  I  won't  frighten  you, 
or  disturb  you  any  longer.  King  the  bell,  will  you  ?  I  want 
Paterson." 

Ingram  rang. 

"  Paterson,"  said  Mrs.  Lavender,  when  the  tall  and  grave 
woman  appeared,  "  ask  Mi's.  Lavender  if  she  can  come  here 
for  a  few  minutes." 

Ingram  looked  at  the  old  woman,  to  see  if  she  had  gone 
mad ;  and  then,  somehow,  he  instinctively  turned  to  the 
door.  He  fancied  he  knew  that  quick,  light  step  !  And 
then,  before  he  well  knew  how,  Sheila  had  come  forward  to 
him,  with  her  hands  outstretched,  and  with  something  like  a 
smile  on  her  pale  face.  She  looked  at  him  for  a  second  ; 
she  tried  to  speak  to  him,  but  there  was  a  dangerous  quiver- 
ing of  the  lips  ;  and  then  she  suddenly  burst  into  tears,  and 
let  go  his  hands  and  turned  away.  In  that  brief  moment 
he  had  seen  what  havoc  had  been  wrought  within  the  past 
two  or  three  days.  There  were  the  same  proud  and  hand- 
some features,  but  they  were  pale  and  wan  ;  and  there  was  a 
piteous  and  weary  look  in  the  eyes,  that  told  of  the  trouble 
and  heartrending  of  sleepless  nights. 

"  Sheila,"  he  said,  following  her  and  taking  her  hand, 
"  does  any  one  know  of  your  being  here  ?  " 

"  No,"  she  said,  still  holding  her  head  aside,  and  down- 
cast ;  "  no  one.  And  I  do  not  wish  any  one  to  know.  I 
am  going  away." 

"  Where  ?  " 

"  Don't  you  ask  too  much,  Mr.  Ingram,"  slid  the  old  lady, 


A  SURPRISE  349 

from  amid  her  cushions  and  curtains.  "  Give  her  that  am- 
monia— the  stopper  only.  Now,  sit  down,  child  ;  and  dry 
your  eyes.  You  need  not  be  ashamed  to  show  Mr.  Ingram 
that  you  knew  where  you  ought  to  come  to  when  you  left 
your  husband's  house.  And  if  you  won't  stop  here,  of  course 
I  can't  compel  you  ;  though  Mr.  Ingram  will  tell  you  you 
might  do  worse." 

"  Sheila,  why  do  you  wish  to  go  away  ?  Do  you  mean  to 
go  back  to  the  Lewis  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  no,  no  !  "  she  said,  almost  shuddering. 

"  Where  do  you  wish  to  go  ?  " 

"  Anywhere — it  does  not  matter.  But  I  cannot  remain 
here.  I  should  meet  with — with  many  people  I  used  to 
know.  Mrs.  Lavender,  she  is  kind  enough  to  say  she  will 
get  me  some  place,  for  Mairi  and  me — that  is  all  as  yet  that 
is  settled." 

"  Is  Mairi  with  you  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  I  will  go  and  bring  her  to  you.  It  is  not  anyone 
in  London  she  will  want  to  see  as  much  as  you." 

Sheila  left  the  room,  and  by  and  by  came  back,  leading  the 
young  Highland  girl  by  the  hand.  Mairi  was  greatly  em- 
barrassed, scarcely  knowing  whether  she  should  show  any 
gladness  at  meeting  this  old  friend  amid  so  much  trouble. 
But  when  Ingram  shook  hands  with  her,  and  after  she  had 
blushed,  and  looked  shy,!and  said, "  And  are  you  ferry  well, 
sir  ?  "  she  managed  somehow  to  lift  her  eyes  to  his  face  ;  and 
then  she  said,  suddenly — • 

"  And  it  is  a  good  day,  this  day,  for  Miss  Sheila,  that  you 
will  come  to  see  her,  Mr.  Ingram  ;  for  she  will  hef  a  friend 
now." 

"  You  silly  girl,"  said  Mrs.  Lavender,  sharply,  "  why  will 
you  say  '  Miss  Sheila '  ?  Don't  you  know  she  is  a  married 
woman  ?  "  » 

.Mairi  glanced  in  a  nervous  and  timid  manner  towards  the 
bed.  She  was  evidently  afraid  of  the  little  shrivelled  old 
woman  with  the  staring  black  eyes  and  the  harsh  voice. 

"  Mairi  hasn't  forgotten  her  old  habits,  that  is  all,"  said 
Ingram,  patting  her  good-naturedly  on  the  head. 

And  then  he  sat  down  again  ;  and  it  seemed  so  strange  to 
him  to  see  these  two  together  again,  and  to  hear  the  odd  in- 
flection of  Mairi's  voice,  that  he  almost  forgot  that  he  had 


350  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

made  a  great  discovery  in  learning  of  Sheila's  whereabouts, 
and  wholly  forgot  that  he  had  just  been  offered,  and  had  just 
refused,  a  fortune. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

MEETING  AND  PARTING. 

THE  appearance  of  Sheila  in  Mrs.  Lavender's  house  certainly 
surprised  Ingram ;  but  the  motives  which  led  her  to  go 
thither  were  simple  enough.  On  the  morning  on  which  she 
had  left  her  husband's  house,  she  and  Mairi  had  been  driven 
up  to  Euston  Square  Station  before  she  seemed  capable  of 
coming  to  any  decision.  Mairi  guessed  at  what  had  happened 
with  a  great  fear  at  her  heart,  and  did  not  dare  to  speak  of  it. 
She  sat,  mute  and  frightened,  in  a  corner  of  the  cab,  and  only 
glanced  from  time  to  time  at  her  companion's  pale  face  and 
troubled  and  distant  eyes. 

They  were  driven  in  to  [the  station.  Sheila  got  out,  still 
seeming  to  know  nothing  of  what  was  around  her.  The  cab- 
man took  down  Mairi's  trunk,  and  handed  it  to  a  porter. 

"  Where  for,  Miss  ?  "  said  the  man.    And  she  started. 

"  Where  will  you  be  going,  Miss  Sheila  ?  "  said  Mairi, 
timidly. 

"  It  is  no  matter  just  now,"  said  Sheila  to  the  porter  ;  "  if 
you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  take  charge  of  the  trunk.  And 
how  much  must  I  pay  the  cabman  from  Netting  Hill  ?  " 

She  gave  him  the  money,  and  walked  into  the  great  stone- 
paved  hall,  with  its  lofty  roof  and  sounding  echoes. 

"  Mairi,"  she  said,  "  I  have  gone  away  from  my  own  home, 
and  I  have  no  home  for  you  or  myself  either.  What  are  we 
to  do  ?  " 

"  Are  you  quite  sure,  Miss  Sheila,"  said  the  s?irl,  dismayed 
beyond  expression,  "  that  you  will  not  go  back  to  your  own 
house  ?  It  wass  a  bad  day  this  day  that  I  wass  come  to 
London  to  find  you  going  away  from  your  own  house." 

And  Mairi  began  to  cry. 

"  We  will  go  back  to  sa  Lewis,  Miss  Sheila  ?  "  she  said. 

"  It  is  many  a  one  there  will  be  proud  and  pleased  to  see 
you  again  in  sa  Lewis,  and  there  will  be  plenty  of  homes  for 
you  there — oh,  yes ;  ferry  many  that  will  be  glad  to  see  you  ! 


MEETING  AND  PARTING  351 

And  it  was  a  bad  day  sa  day  you  left  the  Lewis  whatever  ; 
and  if  you  will  go  back  again,  Miss  Sheila,  you  will  neffer  hef 
to  go  away  again  not  any  more." 

Sheila  looked  at  the  girl — at  the  pretty  pale  face,  the 
troubled  light-blue  eyes,  and  the  abundant  fair-yellow  hair. 
It  was  Mairi  sure  enough,  who  was  talking  to  her  ;  and  yet 
it  was  in  a  strange  place.  There  was  no  sea  dashing  outside — 
no  tide  running  in  from  the  Atlantic.  And  where  was  old 
Scarlett,  with  her  complaints,  and  her  petulance,  and  her 
motherly  kindness  ? 

"  It  is  a  pity  you  have  come  to  London,  Mairi,"  Sheila 
said,  wistfully  ;  "  for  I  have  no  house  to  take  you  into  ;  and 
we  must  go  now  and  find  one." 

"  You  will  not  go  back  to  sa  Lewis,  Miss  Sheila  ?  " 

"  They  would  not  know  me  in  the  Lewis  any  more,  Mairi. 
I  have  been  too  long  away,  and  I  am  quite  changed.  It  is 
many  a  time  I  will  think  of  going  back  ;  but  when  I  left 
the  Lewis,  I  was  married  ;  and  now — • —  How  could  I  go 
back  to  the  Lewis,  Mairi  ?  They  would  look  at  me.  They 
would  ask  questions.  My  father  would  come  down  to  the  quay, 
and  he  would  say,  '  Sheila,  have  you  come  back  alone  ?  '  And 
all  the  story  of  it  would  go  about  the  island,  and  every  one 
would  say  I  had  been  a  bad  wife,  and  my  husband  had  gone 
away  from  me." 

"  There  is  not  any  one,"  said  Mairi,  with  the  tears  starting 
to  her  eyes  again,  "  not  from  one  end  of  sa  island  to  sa  other, 
would  say  that  of  you,  Miss  Sheila ;  and  there  is  no  one 
would  not  come  to  meet  you,  and  be  glad  sat  you  will  come 
again  to  your  own  home.  And  as  for  going  back,  I  will  be 
ferry  glad  to  go  back  whatever,  for  it  was  you  I  wass  come 
to  see,  and  not  any  town  ;  and  I  do  not  like  this  town,  what 
I  hef  seen  of  it,  and  I  will  be  ferry  glad  to  go  away  wis  you, 
Miss  Sheila." 

Sheila  did  not  answer.  She  felt  that  it  was  impossible 
she  could  go  back  to  her  own  people  with  this  disgrace  upon 
her,  and  did  not  even  argue  the  question  with  herself.  All 
her  trouble  now  was  to  find  some  harbour  of  refuge  into  which 
she  could  flee,  so  that  she  might  have  quiet,  and  solitude,  and 
an  opportunity  of  studying  all  that  had  befallen  her.  The 
noise  around  her — the  arrival  of  travellers,  the  transference 
of  luggage,  the  screaming  of  trains — stunned  her  and  con- 


352  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

fused  her  ;  and  she  could  only  vaguely  think  of  all  the  people 
she  knew  in  London,  to  see  to  whom  she  could  go  for  advice 
and  direction.  They  were  not  many.  One  after  the  other  she 
went  over  the  acquaintances  she  had  made  ;  and  not  one  of 
them  appeared  to  her  in  the  light  of  a  friend.  One  friend 
she  had,  who  would  have  rejoiced  to  have  been  of  the  least 
assistance  to  her  ;  but  her  husband  had  forbidden  her  to  hold 
communication  with  him  ;  and  she  felt  a  strange  sort  of 
pride,  even  at  this  moment,  in  resolving  to  obey  that  injunc- 
tion. In  all  this  great  city  that  lay  around  her,  there  was  no 
other  to  whom  she  could  frankly  and  readily  go.  That  one 
friend  she  had  possessed  before  she  came  to  London  ;  in 
London  she  had  not  made  another. 

And  yet  it  was  necessary  to  do  something  ;  for  who  could 
tell  but  that  her  husband  might  come  to  this  station  in  search 
of  her  ?  Mairi's  anxiety,  too,  was  increasing  every  moment ; 
insomuch  that  she  was  fairly  trembling  with  excitement  and 
fatigue.  Sheila  resolved  that  she  would  go  down  and  throw 
herself  on  the  tender  mercies  of  that  terrible  old  lady  in 
Kensington  Gore.  For  one  thing,  she  instinctively  sought 
the  help  of  a  woman  in  her  present  plight ;  and  perhaps  that 
harshly  spoken  old  creature  would  be  gentle  to  her  when  all 
her  story  was  told.  Another  thing  that  prompted  this  decision 
was  a  sort  of  secret  wish  to  identify  herself  even  yet  with  her 
husband's  family  ;  to  prove  to  herself,  as  it  were,  that  they 
had  not  cast  her  off  as  being  unworthy  of  him.  Nothing 
was  further  from  her  mind  at  this  moment  than  any  desire  to 
pave  the  way  for  reconciliation  and  reunion  with  her  husband. 
Her  whole  anxiety  was  to  get  away  from  him  ;  to  put  an  end 
to  a  state  of  things  which  she  had  found  to  be  more  than 
she  could  bear.  And  yet,  if  she  had  friends  in  London 
called  respectively  Mackenzie  and  Lavender,  and  if  she  had 
been  equally  intimate  with  both,  she  would  at  this  moment 
have  preferred  to  go  for  help  to  those  bearing  the  name  of 
Lavender. 

There  was  doubtless  something  strangely  inconsistent  in 
this  instinct  of  wifely  loyalty  and  duty  in  a  women  who  had 
just  voluntarily  left  her  husband's  house.  Lavender  had 
desired  her  not  to  hold  communication  with  Edward  Ingram  ; 
even  now  she  would  respect  his  wish.  Lavender  would  pre- 
fer that  she  should,  in  any  great  extremity,  go  to  his  aunt  for 


MEETING  AND  PARTING  353 

assistance  and  counsel ;  and  to  his  aunt,  despite  her  own 
dislike  of  the  woman,  she  would  go.  At  this  moment,  when 
Sheila's  proud  spirit  had  risen  up  in  revolt  against  a  system 
of  treatment  that  had  become  insufferable  to  her,  when  she 
had  been  forced  to  leave  her  home  and  incur  the  contemptuous 
compassion  of  friends  and  acquaintances,  if  Edward  Ingram 
himself  had  happened  to  meet  her,  and  had  begun  to  say 
hard  things  of  Lavender,  she  would  have  sharply  recalled  him 
to  a  sense  of  the  discretion  that  one  must  use  in  speaking  to 
a  wife  of  her  husband. 

The  two  homeless  girls  got  into  another  cab,  and  were 
driven  down  to  Kensington  Gore.  Sheila  asked  if  she  could 
see  Mrs.  Lavender.  She  knew  that  the  old  lady  had  had 
another  bad  fit ;  but  she  was  supposed  to  be  recovering 
rapidly.  Mrs.  Lavender  would  see  her  in  her  bedroom  ;  and 
so  Sheila  went  up. 

The  girl  could  not  speak. 

"Yes,  I  see  it  —  something  wrong  about  that  precious 
husband  of  yours,"  said  the  old  lady,  watehing  her  keenly. 
"  I  expected  it.  Go  on.  "What  is  the  matter  ?  " 

"  I  have  left  him,"  Sheila  said,  with  her  face  very  pale, 
but  with  no  sign  of  emotion  about  the  firm  lips. 

"  Oh,  good  gracious,  child  !  Left  him  ?  How  many  people 
know  it  ?  " 

"  No  one  but  yourself,  and  a  young  Highland  girl  who  has 
come  up  to  see  me." 

"  You  came  to  me  first  of  all  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Have  you  no  other  friends  to  go  to  ?  " 

"  I  considered  that  I  ought  to  come  to  you." 

There  was  no  cunning  in  the  speech  ;  it  was  the  simple 
truth.  Mrs.  Lavender  looked  at  her  hard  for  a  second  or 
two,  and  then  said,  in  what  she  meant  to  be  a  kindly 
way — 

"  Come  here,  and  sit  down,  child  ;  and  tell  me  all  about 
it.  If  no  one  else  knows  it,  there  is  no  harm  done.  We  can 
easily  patch  it  up  before  it  gets  abroad." 

"  I  did  not  come  to  you  for  that,  Mrs.  Lavender,"  said 
Sheila,  calmly.  "  That  is  impossible.  That  is  all  over.  I 
have  come  to  ask  you  where  I  may  get  lodgings  for  my 
friend  and  myself." 

2  A 


354  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Tell  me  all  about  it  first  :  and  then  we'll  see  whether 
it  can't  be  mended.  Mind,  I  am  ready  to  be  on  your  side, 
though  I  am  your  husband's  aunt.  I  think  you're  a  good  girl 
— a  bit  of  a  temper,  you  know — but  you  manage  to  keep  it 
quiet  ordinarily.  You  tell  me  all  about  it ;  and  you'll  see  if 
I  haven't  means  to  bring  him  to  reason.  Oh,  yes — oh,  yes 
— I'm  an  old  woman  ;  but  I  can  find  some  means  to  bring 
him  to  reason."  And  she  laughed  an  odd,  shrill  laugh. 

A  hot  flush  came  over  Sheila's  face.  Had  she  come  to 
this  old  woman  only  to  make  her  husband's  degradation 
more  complete  ?  Was  he  to  be  intimidated  into  making 
friends  with  her  by  a  threat  of  the  withdrawal  of  that  money 
that  Sheila  had  begun  to  detest  ?  And  this  was  what  her 
notions  of  wifely  duty  had  led  to  ! 

"  Mrs.  Lavender,"  she  said,  with  the  proud  lips  very  proud 
indeed,  "  I  must  say  this  to  you  before  I  tell  you  anything. 
It  is  very  good  of  you  to  say  you  will  take  my  side  ;  but  I 
did  not  come  to  you  to  complain.  And  I  would  rather  not 
have  any  sympathy  from  you  if  it  only  means  that  you  will 
speak  ill  of  my  husband.  And  if  you  think  you  can  make 
him  do  things  because  you  give  him  money — perhaps  that 
is  true  at  present ;  but  it  may  not  always  be  true  ;  and  you 
cannot  expect  me  to  wish  it  to  continue.  I  would  rather 
have  my  present  trouble  twenty  times  over  than  see  him 
being  bought  over  to  any  woman's  wishes." 

Mrs.  Lavender  stared  at  her. 

"  Why,  you  astonishing  girl,  I  believe  you  are  still  in  love 
with  that  man." 

Sheila  said  nothing. 

"  Is  it  true  ?  "  she  said. 

"  I  suppose  a  woman  ought  to  love  her  husband,"  Sheila 
answered. 

"  Even  if  he  turns  her  out  of  the  house  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  it  is  she  who  is  to  blame,"  Sheila  said,  humbly, 
"  Perhaps  her  education  was  wrong — or  she  expects  tob 
much  that  is  unreasonable — or  perhaps  she  has  a  bad  temper. 
You  think  I  have  a  bad  temper,  Mrs.  Lavender  ;  and  might 
it  not  be  that  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  think  you  want  your  own  way ;  and  doubtless 
you  expect  it  now.  I  suppose  I  am  to  listen  to  your  story, 
and  I  must  not  say  a  word  about  my  own  nephew.  But  sit 


MEETING  AND  PARTING  355 

down  and  tell  me  all  about  it ;  and  then  you  can  justify 
him  afterwards,  if  you  like." 

It  was  probably,  however,  the  notion  that  Sheila  would 
try  to  justify  Lavender  that  put  the  old  lady  on  her  guard, 
and  made  her,  indeed,  regard  Lavender's  conduct  in  an  un- 
fairly bad  light.  Sheila  told  the  story  as  simply  as  she 
could,  putting  everything  down  to  her  husband's  advantage 
that  was  possible,  and  asking  for  no  sympathy  whatsoever. 
She  only  wanted  to  remain  away  from  his  house ;  and  by 
what  means  could  she  and  this  young  cousin  of  hers  find 
cheap  lodgings  where  they  could  live  quietly,  and  without 
much  fear  of  detection  ? 

Mrs.  Lavender  was  in  a  rage  ;  and,  as  she  was  not  allowed 
to  vent  it  on  the  proper  object,  she  turned  upon  Sheila 
herself. 

"  The  Highlanders  are  a  proud  race,"  she  said,  sharply. 
"  I  should  have  thought  that  rooms  in  this  house,  even  with 
the  society  of  a  cantankerous  old  woman,  would  have  been 
tolerated  for  a  time." 

"  It  is  very  kind  of  you  to  make  the  offer,"  Sheila  said, 
"  but  I  do  not  wish  to  have  to  meet  rny  husband  or  any  of 
his  friends.  There  is  enough  trouble  without  that.  If  you 
could  tell  me  where  to  get  lodgings  not  far  from  this  neigh- 
bourhood, I  would  come  to  see  you  sometimes  at  such  hours 
as  I  know  he  cannot  be  here." 

"  But  I  don't  understand  what  you  mean.  You  won't  go 
back  to  your  husband — although  I  could  manage  that  for 
you  directly.  You  won't  hear  of  negotiations,  or  of  any 
prospect  of  your  going  back  ;  and  yet  you  won't  go  home 
to  your  father." 

"  I  cannot  do  either,"  Sheila  said. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  live  in  those  lodgings  always  ?  " 

"  How  can  I  tell  ?  "  said  the  girl,  piteously.  "  I  only 
wish  to  be  away  ;  and  I  cannot  go  back  to  my  papa,  with 
•all  this  story  to  tell  him." 

"  Well,  I  didn't  want  to  distress  you,"  said  the  old  woman. 
"  You  know  your  own  affairs  best.  I  think  you  are  mad. 
If  you  would  calmly  reason  with  yourself,  and  show  to  your- 
self that,  in  a  hundred  years,  or  less  than  that,  it  won't 
matter  whether  you  gratified  your  pride  or  no,  you  would 
see  that  the  wisest  thing  you  can  do  now  is  to  take  an  easy 

•2  A  2 


3$6  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

and  comfortable  course.  You  are  in  an  excited  and  nervous 
state  at  present,  for  example  ;  and  that  is  destroying  so 
much  of  the  vital  portion  of  your  frame.  If  you  go  into 
these  lodgings,  and  live  like  a  rat  in  a  hole,  you  will  have 
nothing  to  do  but  nurse  these  sorrows  of  yours,  and  find 
them  grow  bigger  and  bigger,  while  you  grow  more  and 
more  wretched.  All  that  is  mere  pride,  and  sentiment,  and 
folly.  On  the  other  hand,  look  at  this.  Your  husband  is 
sorry  you  are  away  from  him — you  may  take  that  for  granted. 
You  say  he  was  merely  thoughtless  ;  now  he  has  got  some- 
thing to  make  him  think,  and  would  without  doubt  come 
and  beg  your  pardon,  if  you  gave  him  a  chance.  I  write 
to  him ;  he  comes  down  here ;  you  kiss  and  make  good 
friends  again  ;  and  to-morrow  morning  you  are  comfortable 
and  happy  again." 

"  To-morrow  morning  !  "  said  Sheila  sadly.  "  Do  you 
know  how  we  should  be  situated  to-morrow  morning  ?  The 
story  of  my  going  away  would  become  known  to  his  acquain- 
tances ;  he  would  go  among  them  as  though  he  had  suffered 
some  disgrace,  and  I  the  cause  of  it.  And  though  he  is  a 
man,  and  would  soon  be  careless  of  that,  how  could  I  go 
with  him  amongst  his  friends,  and  feel  that  I  had  shamed 
him  ?  It  would  be  worse  than  ever  between  us  ;  and  I 
have  no  wish  to  begin  again  what  ended  this  morning — 
none  at  all,  Mrs.  Lavender." 

"  And  do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  intend  to  live  per- 
manently apart  from  your  husband  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  Sheila,  in  a  despairing  tone.  "  I 
cannot  tell  you.  What  I  feel  is  that,  with  all  this  trouble, 
it  is  better  that  our  life  as  it  was  in  that  house  should  come 
to  an  end." 

Then  she  rose.  There  was  a  tired  look  about  her  face,  as 
if  she  were  too  weary  to  care  whether  this  old  woman  would 
help  her  or  no.  Mrs.  Lavender  regarded  her  for  a  moment, 
wondering,  perhaps,  that  a  girl  so  handsome,  fine-coloured, 
and  proud-eyed,  should  be  distressing  herself  with  imaginary 
sentiments,  instead  of  taking  life  cheerfully,  enjoying  the 
hour  as  it  passed,  and  being  quite  assured  of  the  interest, 
and  liking,  and  homage  of  everyone  with  whom  she  came  in 
contact.  Sheila  turned  to  the  bed  once  more,  about  to  say 
that  she  had  troubled  Mrs.  Lavender  too  much  already,  and 


MEETING  AND  PARTING  357 

that  she  would  look  after  these  lodgings.  But  the  old 
woman  apparently  anticipated  as  much,  and  said,  with  much 
deliberation,  that  if  Sheila  and  her  companion  would  only 
remain  one  or  two  days  in  the  house,  proper  rooms  should 
be  provided  for  them  somewhere.  Young  girls  could  not 
venture  into  lodgings  without  strict  inquiries  being  made. 
Sheila  should  have  suitable  apartments  ;  and  Mrs.  Lavender 
would  see  that  she  was  properly  looked  after,  and  that  she 
wanted  for  nothing.  In  the  meantime  she  must  have  some 
money. 

"  It  is  very  kind  of  you,"  said  the  girl,  blushing  hotly, 
"  but  I  do  not  require  it." 

"  Oh,  I  suppose  we  are  too  proud  !  "  said  the  old  woman. 
"  If  we  disapprove  of  our  husband  taking  money,  we  must 
not  do  it  either.  Why,  child,  you  have  learnt  nothing  in 
London.  You  are  a  savage  yet.  You  must  let  me  give 

?>u  something  for  your  pocket,  or  what  are  you  to  do  ? 
ou  say  you  have  left  everything  at  home ;  do  you  think 
hair-brushes,  for  example,  grow  on  trees,  that  you  can  go 
into  Kensington  Gardens  and  stock  your  rooms  ?  " 

"  I  have  some  money — a  few  pounds — that  my  papa  gave 
me,"  Sheila  said. 

"  And  when  that  is  done  ?  " 

"  He  will  give  me  more." 

"  And  yet  you  don't  wish  him  to  know  you  have  left  your 
husband's  house  !  What  will  he  make  of  these  repeated 
demands  for  money  ?  " 

"  My  papa  will  give  me  anything  I  want,  without  asking 
any  questions." 

"  Then  he  is  a  bigger  fool  than  I  expected.  Oh,  don't 
get  into  a  temper  again.  These  sudden  shocks  of  colour, 
child,  show  me  that  your  heart  is  out  of  order.  How  can 
you  expect  to  have  a  regular  pulsation  if  you  flare  up  at 
anything  anyone  may  say  ?  Now  go  and  fetch  me  your 
Highland  cousin." 

Mairi  came  into  the  room  in  a  very  timid  fashion,  and 
stared  with  her  big,  light-blue  eyes  into  the  dusky  recess  iii 
which  the  little  old  woman  sat  up  in  bed.  Sheila  took  her 
forward. 

"  This  is  my  cousin  Mairi,  Mrs.  Lavender." 

"  And  are  you  ferry  well,  ma'am  ? "  said  Mairi,  holding 


358  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

out  her  hand  very  much  as  a  boy  pretends  to  hold  out  his 
hand  to  a  tiger  in  the  Zoological  Gardens. 

"  Well,  young  lady,"  said  Mrs.  Lavender,  staring  at  her, 
"  and  a  pretty  mess  you  have  got  us  into  !  " 

"  Me  !  "  said  Mairi,  almost  with  a  cry  of  pain  :  she  had 
not  imagined  before  that  she  had  anything  to  do  with 
Sheila's  trouble. 

"  No,  no,  Mairi,"  her  companion  said,  taking  her  hand  ; 
"  it  was  not  you.  Mrs.  Lavender,  Mairi  does  not  understand 
our  way  of  joking  in  London.  Perhaps  she  will  learn 
before  she  goes  back  to  the  Highlands." 

"There  is  one  thing," said  Mrs.  Lavender,  observing  that 
Mairi's  eyes  had  rilled  the  moment  she  was  charged  with 
bringing  trouble  on  Sheila,  "  there  is  one  thing  you  people 
from  the  Highlands  seem  never  disposed  to  learn,  and  that 
is,  to  have  a  little  control  over  your  passions.  If  one  speaks 
to  you  a  couple  of  words,  you  either  begin  to  cry  or  go  off 
into  a  flash  of  rage.  Don't  you  know  how  bad  that  is  for 
the  health  ?  " 

"  And  yet,"  said  Sheila,  with  a  smile — and  it  seemed  so 
strange  to  Mairi  to  see  her  smile — "  we  will  not  compare 
badly  in  health  with  the  people  about  us  here." 

Mrs.  Lavender  dropped  the  question,  and  began  to  explain 
to  Sheila  what  she  advised  her  to  do.  In  the  meantime  both 
the  girls  were  to  remain  in  her  house.  She  would  guarantee 
their  meeting  no  one.  When  suitable  rooms  had  been 
looked  'out  by  Paterson,  they  were  to  remove  thither.  The 
whole  situation  of  affairs  was  at  once  perceived  by  Mrs. 
Lavender's  attendant,  who  was  given  to  understand  that  no 
one  was  to  know  of  young  Mrs.  Lavender's  being  in  the 
house.  Then  the  old  woman,  much  contented  with  what 
she  had  done,  resolved  that  she  would  reward  herself 'with  a 
joke  ;  and  sent  for  Edward  Ingram. 

When  Sheila,  as  already  described,  came  into  the  room, 
and  found  her  old  friend  there,  the  resolution  she  had  formed 
went  clean  out  of  her  mind.  She  forgot  entirely  the  ban 
that  had  been  placed  on  Ingram  by  her  husband.  But  after 
her  first  emotion  on  seeing  him  was  over,  and  when  he 
began  to  discuss  what  she  ought  to  do,  and  even  to  advise 
her  in  a  diffident  sort  of  way,  she  remembered  all  that  she 
had  forgotten,  and  was  ashamed  to  find  herself  sitting  there, 


MEETING  AND  PARTING  359 

and  talking  to  him,  as  if  it  were  in  her  father's  house  at 
Borva.  Indeed,  when  he  proposed  to  take  the  management 
of  her  affairs  in  his  own  hands,  and  to  go  and  look  at 
certain  apartments  that  Paterson  had  proposed,  she  was 
forced,  with  great  heart-burning  and  pain,  to  hint  to  him 
that  she  could  not  avail  herself  of  his  kindness. 

"  But  why  ?  "  he  asked,  with  a  stare  of  surprise. 

"  You  remember  Brighton,"  she  answered,  looking  down. 
"  You  had  a  bad  return  for  your  kindness  to  me  then." 

"  Oh,  I  know,"  he  said,  carelessly.  "  And  I  suppose  Mr. 
Lavender  wished  you  to  cut  me  after  my  impertinent  inter- 
ference. But  things  are  very  much  changed  now.  Except 
for  the  time  he  went  North,  he  has  been  with  me  nearly 
every  hour  since  you  left." 

"  Has  Frank  been  to  the  Lewis  ?  "  she  said,  suddenly, 
with  a  look  of  fear  on  her  face. 

"  Oh  no  ;  he  has  only  been  to  Glasgow  to  see  if  you  had 
gone  to  catch  the  Clansman,  and  go  North  from  there." 

"  Did  he  take  the  trouble  to  do  all  that  ?  "  she  asked, 
slowly  and  wistfully. 

"  Trouble  !  "  cried  Ingram.  "  He  appears  to  me  neither 
to  eat  nor  sleep  day  or  night ;  but  to  go  wandering  about  in 
search  of  you  in  every  place  where  he  fancies  you  may  be.  I 
never  saw  a  man  so  beside  himself  with  anxiety " 

"  I  did  not  wish  to  make  him  anxious,"  said  Sheila,  in  a 
low  voice.  "  Will  you  tell  him  that  I  am  well  ?  " 

Mrs.  Lavender  began  to  smile.  Were  there  not  evident 
signs  of  softening  ?  But  Ingram,  who  knew  the  girl  better, 
was  not  deceived  by  these  appearances.  He  could  see  that 
Sheila  merely  wished  that  her  husband  should  not  suffer 
pain  on  her  account  ;  that  was  all. 

"  I  was  about  to  ask  you,"  he  said,  gently,  "  what  I  may 
say  to  him.  He  comes  to  me  continually  ;  for  he  has  always 
fancied  that  you  would  communicate  with  me.  What  shall 
I  say  to  him,  Sheila  ?  " 

"  You  may  tell  him  that  I  am  well." 

Mairi  had  by  this  time  stepped  out  of  the  room.  Sheila 
sat  with  her  eyes  fixed  on  the  floor,  her  fingers  working 
nervously  with  a  paper-knife  she  held. 

"  Nothing  more  than  that  ?  "  he  said. 

"  Nothing  more." 


360  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

He  saw  by  her  face,  and  he  could  tell  by  the  sound  of  her 
voice,  that  her  decision  was  absolute. 

"  Don't  be  a  fool,  child,"  said  Mrs.  Lavender,  emphatically. 
"  Here  is  your  husband's  friend,  who  can  make  everything 
straight  and  comfortable  for  you  in  an  hour  or  two,  and  you 
quietly  put  aside  the  chance  of  reconciliation,  and  bring  on 
yourself  any  amount  of  misery.  I  don't  speak  for  Frank. 
Men  can  take  care  of  themselves ;  they  have  clubs,  and 
friends,  and  amusements  for  the  whole  day  long.  But  you 
— what  a  pleasant  life  you  would  have,  shut  up  in  a  couple 
of  rooms,  scarcely  daring  to  show  yourself  at  a  window  ! 
Your  fine  sentiments  are  all  very  well ;  but  they  won't  stand 
in  the  place  of  a  husband  to  you ;  and  you  will  soon  find 
out  the  difference  between  living  by  yourself  like  that,  and 
having  some  one  in  the  house  to  look  after  you.  Am  I  right, 
Mr.  Ingram,  or  am  I  wrong  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  the  same  courage  that  you  have,  Mrs.  Laven- 
der. I  dare  not  advise  Sheila  one  way  or  the  other  just  at 
present.  But  if  she  feels  in  her  own  heart  that  she  would 
rather  return  now  to  her  husband,  I  can  safely  say  that  she 
would  find  him  deeply  grateful  to  her,  and  that  he  would  try 
to  do  everything  that  she  desired.  That  I  know.  He  wants 
to  see  you,  Sheila,  if  only  for  five  minutes — to  beg  your 
forgiveness ' ' 

"  I  cannot  see  him,"  she  said,  with  the  same  sad  and 
settled  air. 

"  I  am  not  to  tell  him  where  you  are  ?  " 

"  Oh  no  !  "  she  cried,  with  a  sudden  and  startled  emphasis  : 
"  you  must  not  do  that,  Mr.  Ingram.  Promise  me  you  will 
not  do  that  ?  " 

"  I  do  promise  you  ;  but  you  put  a  painful  duty  on  me, 
Sheila  ;  for  you  know  how  he  will  believe  that  a  short 
interview  with  you  would  put  everything  right ;  and  he  will 
look  on  me  as  preventing  that." 

"Do  you  think  a  short  interview  at  present  would  put 
everything  right  ?  "  she  said,  suddenly,  looking  up,  and 
regarding  him  with  her  clear  and  steadfast  eyes. 

He  dared  not  answer.  He  felt  in  his  inmost  heart  that  it 
would  not. 

"Ah,  well,"  said  Mrs.  Lavender,  "young  people  have 
much  satisfaction  in  being  proud ;  when  they  come  to  my 


MEETING  AND  PARTING  361 

age,  they  may  find  they  would  have  been  happier  if  they  had 
been  less  disdainful." 

"  It  is  not  disdain,  Mrs.  Lavender,"  said  Sheila,  gently. 

"  Whatever  it  is,"  said  the  old  woman,  "  I  must  remind 
you  two  people  that  I  am  an  invalid.  Go  away,  and  have 
luncheon.  Paterson  will  look  after  you.  Mr.  Ingram,  give 
me  that  book,  that  I  may  read  myself  into  a  nap  ;  and  don't 
forget  what  I  expect  of  you." 

Ingram  suddenly  remembered.  He  and  Sheila  and  Mairi 
sat  down  to  luncheon  in  the  dining-room  ;  and,  while  he 
strove  to  get  them  to  talk  about  Borva,  he  was  thinking  all 
the  time  of  the  extraordinary  position  he  was  expected  to 
assume  towards  Sheila.  Not  only  was  he  to  be  the  reposi- 
tory of  the  secret  of  her  place  of  residence,  and  the  message- 
carrier  between  herself  and  her  husband  ;  but  he  was  also  to 
take  Mrs.  Lavender's  fortune,  in  the  event  of  her  dying,  and 
hold  it  in  trust  for  the  young  wife.  Surely  this  old  woman, 
with  her  suspicious  ways  and  her  worldly  wisdom,  would  not 
be  so  foolish  as  to  hand  him  over  all  her  property,  free 
of  conditions,  on  the  simple  understanding  that  when  he 
chose  he  could  give  what  he  pleased  to  Sheila  ?  And  yet 
that  was  what  she  had  vowed  she  would  do,  to  Ingram's 
profound  dismay. 

He  laboured  hard  to  lighten  the  spirits  of  those  two 
girls.  He  talked  of  John  the  Piper,  and  said  he  would 
invite  him  up  to  London  ;  and  described-  his  probable 
appearance  in  the  Park.  He  told  them  stories  of  his 
adventures  while  he  was  camping  out  with  some  young 
artists  in  the  Western  Highlands  ;  and  narrated  anecdotes, 
old,  recent,  and  of  his  own  invention,  about  the  people  he 
had  met.  Had  they  heard  of  the  steward  on  board  one  of 
the  Clyde  steamers,  who  had  a  percentage  on  the  drink 
consumed  in  the  cabin,  and  who  would  call  out  to  the 
captain, "  Why  wass  you  going  so  fast  ?  Dinna  put  her  into 
the  quay  so  fast !  There  is  a  gran'  company  down  below, 
and  they  are  drinking  fine !  "  Had  he  ever  told  them  of 
the  porter  at  Arran  who  had  demanded  sixpence  for  carry- 
ing up  some  luggage,  but  who,  after  being  sent  to  get  a 
sovereign  changed,  came  back  with  only  eighteen  shillings, 
saying,  "  Oh,  yes,  it  iss  sixpence  !  Oh,  aye,  it  iss  sixpence  ! 
But  it  is  two  shullens  ta  you ! "  Or  of  the  other,  who, 


362  A  PRINCESS  OP  THULE 

after  being  paid,  hung  about  the  cottage-door  for  nearly  an 
hour,  until  Ingram,  coming  out,  asked  him  why  he  waited ; 
whereupon  he  said,  with  an  air  of  perfect  indifference,  "  Oo 
aye,  there  wass  something  said  about  a  dram ;  but  hoot 
toots  !  it  is  of  no  consequence  whatever ! "  And  was  it 
true  that  the  Sheriff  of  Stornoway  was  so  kind-hearted  a 
man  that  he  remitted  the  punishment  of  certain  culprits, 
ordained  by  the  statute  to  be  whipped  with  birch-rods,  on 
the  ground  that  the  island  of  Lewis  produced  no  birch,  and 
that  he  was  not  bound  to  import  it  ?  And  had  Mairi 
heard  any  more  of  the  Black  Horse  of  Loch  Suainabhal  ? 
And  where  had  she  pulled  the  splendid  bunches  of  bell- 
heather  ? 

He  suddenly  stopped,  and  Sheila  looked  up  with  inquiring 
eyes.  How  did  he  know  that  Mairi  had  brought  those 
things  with  her  ?  Sheila  saw  that  he  must  have  gone  home 
with  her  husband,  and  must  have  seen  the  room  which  she 
had  decorated  in  imitation  of  the  small  parlour  of  Borvabost. 
She  would  rather  not  think  of  that  room  now. 

"  When  are  you  going  to  the  Lewis  ?  "  she  asked  of  him, 
with  her  eyes  cast  down. 

"  "Well,  I  [think  I  have  changed  my  mind  about  that, 
Sheila.  I  don't  think  I  shall  go  the  Lewis  this  autumn." 

•  Her  face  became  more  and  more  embarrassed  :  how  was 
she  to  thank  him  for  his  continued  thoughtfulness  and  self- 
sacrifice  ? 

"  There  is  no  necessity,"  he  said,  lightly.  "  The  man  I 
am  going  with  has  no  particular  purpose  in  view.  "We  shall 
merely  go  cruising  about  the  outer  lochs  and  islands  ;  and  I 
am  sure  to  run  against  some  of  those  young  fellows  I  know 
who  are  prowling  about  the  fishing-villages  with  portable 
easels.  They  are  good  boys,  those  boys.  They  are  very 
hospitable,  if  they  have  only  a  single  bed-room  in  a  small 
cottage  as  their  studio  and  reception-room  combined.  I 
should  not  wonder,  Sheila,  if  I  went  ashore  somewhere,  and 
put  up  my  lot  with  those  young  fellows,  and  listened  to  their 
wicked  stories,  and  lived  on  whisky  and  herrings  for  a  month. 
"Would  you  like  to  see  me  return  to  Whitehall  in  a  kilt  ? 
And  I  should  go  into  the  office,  and  salute  everybody  with 
'  And  are  you  ferry  well  ?  '  just  as  Mairi  does.  But  don't 
be  down-hearted,  Mairi.  You  speak  English  a  good  deal 


MEETING  AND  PARTING  363 

better  than  many  English  folk  I  know  ;  and  by  the  time 
you  go  back  to  the  Lewis,  we  shall  have  you  fit  to  become  a 
school-mistress,  not  only  in  Borva,  but  in  Stornoway  itself." 

"  I  was  told  it  is  ferry  good  English  they  hef  in  Styorno- 
way,"  said  Mairi,  not  very  sure  whether  Mr.  Ingram  was 
joking  or  not. 

"  My  dear  child  ! "  he  cried,  "  I  tell  you  it  is  the  best 
English  in  the  world.  If  the  Queen  only  knew,  she  would 
send  her  grandchildren  to  be  educated  there.  But  I  must 
go  now.  Good-bye,  Mairi.  I  mean  to  come  and  take  you 
to  a  theatre  some  night  soon." 

Sheila  accompanied  him  out  into  the  hall. 

"  AYhen  shall  you  see  him  ?  "  she  said,  with  her  eyes  cast 
down. 

'  This  evening,"  he  answered. 
I  should  like  you  to  tell  him  that  I  am  well,  and  that 


hi- 


need  not  be  anxious  about  me." 


;  And  that  is  all  ?  " 

;  Yes,  that  is  all." 

'  Very  well,  Sheila.  I  wish  you  had  given  me  a  pleasanter 
message  to  carry  ;  but  when  you  think  of  doing  that,  I  shall 
be  glad  to  take  it." 

Ingram  left,  and  hastened  in  to  his  office.  Sheila's  affairs 
were  considerably  interfering  with  his  attendance  there,  there 
could  be  no  question  of  that ;  but  he  had  the  reputation  of 
being  able  to  get  through  his  work  thoroughly,  whatever 
might  be  the  hours  he  devoted  to  it ;  so  that  he  did  not 
greatly  fear  being  rebuked  for  his  present  irregularities. 
Perhaps,  if  a  grave  official  warning  had  been  probable,  even 
that  would  not  have  interfered  much  with  his  determination 
to  do  what  could  be  done  for  Sheila. 

But  this  business  of  carrying  a  message  to  Lavender  was 
the  most  serious  he  had  as  yet  undertaken.  He  had  to  make 
sundry  and  solemn  resolves  to  put  a  bold  face  on  the  matter 
at  the  outset,  and  declare  that  wild  horses  would  not  tear 
from  him  any  further  information.  He  feared  the  piteous 
appeals  that  might  be  made  to  him  ;  the  representations 
that,  merely  for  the  sake  of  an  imprudent  promise,  he  was 
delaying  a  reconciliation  between  these  two  until  that  might 
be  impossible  ;  the  reasons  that  would  be  urged  on  him  for 
considering  Sheila's  welfare  as  paramount  to  his  own  scruples. 


364  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

He  went  through  the  interview,  as  he  foresaw  it,  a  dozen 
times  over  ;  and  constructed  replies  to  each  argument  and 
entreaty.  Of  course  it  would  be  simple  enough  to  meet  all 
Lavender's  demands  with  a  simple  "  No ; "  but  there  are 
circumstances  in  which  the  heroic  method  of  solving  diffi- 
culties becomes  a  trifle  inhuman. 

He  had  promised  to  dine  with  Lavender  that  evening  at 
his  club.  When  he  went  along  to  St.  James's  Street  at  the 
appointed  hour,  his  host  had  not  arrived.  He  walked  about 
for  ten  minutes,  and  then  Lavender  appeared,  haggard  and 
worn-out  with  fatigue. 

"  I  have  heard  nothing — I  can  hear  nothing — I  have 
been  everywhere,"  he  said,  leading  the  way  at  once  into 
the  dining-room.  "I  am  sorry  I  have  kept  you  waiting, 
Ingram." 

They  sat  down  at  a  small  side-table  ;  there  were  few  men 
in  the  club  at  this  late  season  ;  so  that  they  could  talk 
freely  enough  when  the  waiter  had  come  and  gone. 

"  Well,  I  have  some  news  for  you,  Lavender,"  Ingram 
said. 

"  Do  you  know  where  she  is  ?  "  said  the  other,  eagerly. 

"Yes:" 

"Where  ?  "  he  almost  called  aloud,  in  his  anxiety. 

"  Well,"  Ingram  said,  slowly,  "  she  is  in  London,  and  she 
is  very  well ;  and  you  need  have  no  anxiety  about  her." 

"  But  where  is  she  ?  "  demanded  Lavender,  taking  no 
heed  of  the  waiter  who  was  standing  by  and  uncorking  a 
bottle. 

"  I  promised  her  not  to  tell  you." 

"  You  have  spoken  with  her,  then  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  What  did  she  say  ?  Where  has  she  been  ?  Good 
heavens,  Ingram  !  you  don't  mean  to  say  you  are  going  to 
keep  it  a  secret  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,"  said  the  other  ;  "  I  will  tell  you  everything  she 
said  to  me,  if  you  like.  Only  I  will  not  tell  you  where  she 
is " 

"  I  will  not  ask  you,"  said  Lavender,  at  once,  "  if  she  does 
not  wish  me  to  know.  But  you  can  tell  me  about  herself. 
What  did  she  say  ?  What  was  she  looking  like  ?  Is  Mairi 
with  her  ? " 


MEETING  AND  PARTING  365 

"  Yes,  Mairi  is  with  her.  And  of  course  she  is  looking  a 
little  troubled,  and  pale,  and  so  forth  ;  but  she  is  very  well, 
I  should  think,  and  quite  comfortably  situated.  She  said  I 
was  to  tell  you  that  she  was  well,  and  that  you  need  not  be 
anxious." 

"  She  sent  a  message  to  me  ?  " 

"  That  is  it." 

"  By  Jove,  Ingram  !  how  can  I  ever  thank  you  enough  ? 
I  feel  as  glad  just  now  as  if  she  had  really  come  home  again. 
And  how  did  you  manage  it  ?  " 

Lavender,  in  his  excitement  and  gratitude,  kept  filling  up 
his  friend's  glass  the  moment  the  least  quantity  had  been 
taken  out  of  it ;  the  wonder  was  he  did  not  fill  all  the  glasses 
on  that  side  of  the  table,  and  beseech  Ingram  to  have  two 
or  three  dinners  at  once. 

"  Oh,  you  needn't  give  me  any  credit  about  it,"  Ingram 
said.  "  I  stumbled  against  her  by  accident — at  least,  I  did 
not  find  her  out  myself." 

"  Did  she  send  for  you  ?  " 

"  Xo.  But  look  here,  Lavender,  this  sort  of  cross-ex- 
amination will  lead  to  but  one  thing  ;  and  you  say  yourself 
you  won't  try  to  find  out  where  she  is." 

"  Not  from  you,  anyway.  But  how  can  I  help  wanting  to 
know  where  she  is  ?  And  my  aunt  was  saying  just  now 
that  very  likely  she  had  gone  right  away  to  the  other  end  of 
London — to  Peckham,  or  some  such  place." 

"  You  have  seen  Mrs.  Lavender,  then  ?  " 

"  I  have  just  come  from  there.  The  old  heathen  thinks 
the  whole  affair  rather  a  good  joke  ;  but  perhaps  that  was 
only  her  way  of  showing  her  temper,  for  she  was  in  a  bit  of 
a  rage,  to  be  sure.  And  so  Sheila  sent  me  that  message  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Does  she  want  money  ?  Would  you  take  her  some 
money  from  me  ?  "  he  said,  eagerly.  Any  bond  of  union 
between  him  and  Sheila  would  be  of  some  value. 

"  I  don't  think  she  needs  money  ;  and  in  any  case,  I  know 
she  wouldn't  take  it  from  you." 

"  Well,  now,  Ingram,  you  have  seen  her,  and  talked  with 
her.  What  do  you  think  she  intends  to  do  ?  What  do  you 
think  she  would  have  me  do  ?  " 

"  These  are  very  dangerous  questions  for  me  to  answer," 


366  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Ingram  said.     "  I  don't  see  how  you  can  expect  me  to  assume 
the  responsibility." 

"  I  don't  ask  you  to  do  that  at  all.  But  I  never  found 
your  advice  to  fail.  And  if  you  give  me  any  hint  as  to  what 
I  should  do,  I  will  do  it  on  my  own  responsibility." 

"  Then  I  won't.  But  this  I  will  do.  I  will  tell  you  as 
nearly  as  ever  I  can  what  she  said  ;  and  you  can  judge  for 
yourself." 

Very  cautiously  indeed  did  Ingram  set  out  on  this  perilous 
undertaking.  It  was  no  easy  matter  so  to  omit  all  references 
to  Sheila's  surroundings,  that  no  hint  should  be  given  to 
this  anxious  listener  as  to  her  whereabouts.  But  Ingram 
got  through  it  successfully  ;  and  when  he  had  finished,  Laven- 
der sat  some  time  in  silence,  merely  toying  with  his  knife, 
for,  indeed,  he  had  eaten  nothing. 

"  If  it  is  her  wish,"  he  said,  slowly,  "  that  I  should  not 
go  to  see  her,  I  will  not  try  to  do  so.  But  I  should  like 
to  know  where  she  is.  You  say  she  is  comfortable,  and 
she  has  Mairi  for  a  companion — and  that  is  something.  In 
the  meantime,  I  suppose  I  must  wait." 

"I  don't  see -myself  how  waiting  is  likely  to  do  much 
good,"  said  Ingram.  "That  won't  alter  your  relations 
much." 

"  It  may  alter  her  determination.  A  woman  is  sure  to 
soften  into  charity  and  forgiveness.  She  can't  help  it." 

"  If  you  were  to  ask  Sheila  now,  she  would  say  she  had 
forgiven  you  already.  But  that  is  a  different  matter  from 
getting  her  to  resume  her  former  method  of  life  with  you 
To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  should  strongly  advise  her,  if  I  were 
to  give  advice  at  all,  not  to  attempt  anything  of  the  sort.  One 
failure  is  bad  enough,  and  has  wrought  sufficient  trouble." 

"  Then  what  am  I  to  do,  Ingram  ?  " 

"  You  must  judge  for  yourself  what  is  the  most  likely  way 
of  winning  back  Sheila's  confidence  in  you,  and  the  most 
likely  conditions  under  which  she  might  be  induced  to  join 
you  again.  You  need  not  expect  to  get  her  back  into  that 
Square,  I  should  fancy  ;  that  experiment  has  rather  broken 
down." 

"  Well,"  said  Lavender, "  I  shan't  bore  you  any  more  just 
now  about  my  affairs.  Look  after  your  dinner,  old  fellow  ; 
your  starving  yourself  won't  help  me  much." 


.MEETING  AND  PARTING  367 

"  I  don't  mean  to  starve  myself  at  all,"  said  Ingram, 
steadily  making  his  way  through  the  abundant  dishes  his 
friend  had  ordered.  "  But  I  had  a  very  good  luncheon  this 
morning  with " 

"  With  Sheila,"  Lavender  said,  quickly. 

"  Yes.  Does  it  surprise  you  to  find  that  she  is  in  a  place 
where  she  can  get  food  ?  I  wish  the  poor  child  had  made 
better  use  of  her  opportunities." 

"  Ingram,"  he  said,  after  a  minute,  "  could  you  take  some 
money  from  me,  without  her  knowing  of  it,  and  try  to  get 
her  some  of  the  little  things  she  likes — some  delicacies,  you 
know — they  might  be  smuggled  in,  as  it  were,  without  her 
knowing  who  had  paid  for  them  ?  There  was  ice-pudding, 
you  know,  with  strawberries  in  it,  that  she  was  fond  of " 

"  My  dear  fellow,  a  woman  in  her  position  thinks  of  some- 
thing else  than  ice-pudding  in  strawberries " 

"  But  why  shouldn't  she  have  it  all  the  same  ?  I  would 
give  twenty  pounds  to  get  some  little  gratification  of  that 
sort  conveyed  to  her  ;  and  if  you  could  try,  Ingram " 

"  My  dear  fellow,  she  has  got  everything  she  can  want  : 
there  was  no  ice-pudding  at  luncheon,  but  probably  there  will 
be  at  dinner." 

So  Sheila  was  staying  in  a  house  in  which  ices  could  be 
prepared  ?  Lavender's  suggestion  had  had  no  cunning  in- 
tention in  it ;  but  here  was  an  obvious  piece  of  information. 
She  was  in  no  humble  lodging-house,  then.  She  was  either 
staying  with  friends — and  she  had  no  friends  but  Lavender's 
friends — or  she  was  staying  at  an  hotel.  He  remembered 
that  she  had  once  dined  at  the  Langham,  Mrs.  Kavanagh 
having  persuaded  her  to  go  to  meet  some  American  visitors. 
Might  she  have  gone  thither  ? 

Lavender  was  somewhat  silent  during  the  rest  of  that  meal ; 
for  he  was  thinking  of  other  things  besides  the  mere  question 
as  to  where  Sheila  must  be  staying.  He  was  trying  to 
imagine  what  she  may  have  felt  before  she  was  driven  to  this 
step.  He  was  trying  to  recall  all  manner  of  incidents  of 
their  daily  life  that  he  could  see  might  have  appeared  to 
her  in  a  very  different  light  from  that  in  which  he  now 
regarded  them.  He  was  wondering,  too,  how  all  this 
could  be  altered  ;  and  a  new  life  begun  for  them  both,  if 
that  were  still  possible, 


368  A  PRINCESS  OF  TttULE 

They  had  gone  up-stairs  into  the  smoking-room,  when  a 
card  was  brought  to  Lavender. 

"  Young  Mosenberg  is  below,"  he  said  to  Ingram.  "  He 
will  be  a  livelier  companion  for  you  than  I  could  be.  "Waiter, 
ask  this  gentleman  to  come  up." 

The  handsome  Jew-boy  came  eagerly  into  the  room,  with 
much  excitement  visible  on  his  face. 

"  Oh,  do  you  know,"  he  said  to  Lavender,  "  I  have  found 
out  where  Mrs.  Lavender  is,  yes  :  she  is  at  your  aunt's  house. 
I  saw  her  this  afternoon — for  one  moment " 

He  stopped  ;  for  he  saw  by  the  vexation  on  Ingram's  face 
that  he  had  done  something  wrong. 

"  Is  it  a  mistake  ?  "  he  said.     "  Is  it  a  secret  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  likely  to  be  a  secret  if  you  have  got  hold  of  it," 
said  Ingram,  sharply. 

"  I  am  very  sorry,"  said  the  boy.  "  I  thought  you  were 
all  anxious  to  know " 

"  It  does  not  matter  in  the  least,"  said  Lavender,  quietly, 
to  both  of  them.  "  I  shall  not  seek  to  disturb  her.  I  am 
about  to  leave  London." 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  said  the  boy. 

"  I  don't  know  yet." 

That,  at  least,  had  been  part  of  the  result  of  his  medita- 
tions ;  and  Ingram,  looking  at  him,  wondered  whether  he 
meant  to  go  away  without  trying  to  say  one  word  to  Sheila. 

"  Look  here,  Lavender,"  he  said,  "  you  must  not  fancy  we 
were  trying  to  play  any  useless  and  impertinent  trick.  To- 
morrow or  next  day  Sheila  will  leave  your  aunt's  house  ;  and 
then  I  should  have  told  you  she  had  been  there,  and  how  the 
old  lady  received  her.  It  was  Sheila's  own  wish  that  the 
lodgings  she  is  going  to  should  not  be  known.  She  fancies 
that  would  save  both  of  you  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  and 
fruitless  pain,  do  you  see.  That  really  is  her  only  object  in 
wishing  to  have  any  concealment  about  the  matter." 

"  But  there  is  no  need  for  any  such  concealment,"  he  said. 
"  You  may  tell  Sheila  that  if  she  likes  to  stay  on  with  my 
aunt,  so  much  the  better  ;  and  I  take  it  very  kind  of  her  that 
she  went  there,  instead  of  going  home,  or  to  a  strange 
house." 

"  Am  I  to  tell  her  that  you  mean  to  leave  London  ? " 

"  Yes." 


MEETING  AND  PARTING  369 

They  went  into  the  billiard-room.  Mosenberg  was  not 
permitted  to  play,  as  he  had  not  dined  in  the  club  ;  but 
Ingram  and  Lavender  proceeded  to  have  a  game,  the  former 
being  content  to  accept  something  like  thirty  in  a  hundred. 
It  was  speedily  very  clear  that  Lavender's  heart  was  not  in 
the  contest.  He  kept  forgetting  which  ball  he  had  been 
playing ;  missing  easy  shots  ;  playing  a  perversely  wrong 
game  ;  and  so  forth.  And  yet  his  spirits  were  not  much 
downcast. 

"  Is  Peter  Hewetson  still  at  Tarbert,  do  you  know  ?  "  he 
asked  of  Ingram. 

"  I  believe  so.  I  heard  of  him  lately.  He  and  one  or 
two  more  are  there." 

"  I  suppose  you'll  look  in  on  them  if  you  go  North  ?  " 

"  Certain.  The  place  is  badly  perfumed,  but  picturesque  ; 
and  there  is  generally  plenty  of  whisky  about." 

"  When  do  you  go  North  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.     In  a  week  or  two." 

That  was  all  that  Lavender  hinted  of  his  plans.  He  went 
home  early  that  night,  and  spent  and  hour  or  two  in  packing 
up  some  things,  and  in  writing  a  long  letter  to  his  aunt,  which 
was  destined  considerably  to  astonish  that  lady.  Then  he 
lay  down,  and  had  a  few  hours'  rest. 

In  the  early  morning  he  went  out  and  walked  across  Ken- 
sington Gardens  down  to  the  Gore.  He  wished  to  have  one 
look  at  the  house  in  which  Sheila  was  ;  or  perhaps  he  might, 
from  a  distance,  see  her  come  out  on  a  simple  errand.  He 
knew,  for  example,  that  she  had  a  superstitious  liking  for 
posting  her  letters  herself  ;  in  wet  weather  or  dry,  she  inva- 
riably carried  her  own  correspondence  to  the  nearest  pillar- 
post.  Perhaps  he  might  have  one  glimpse  of  her  face  to  see 
lio\v  she  was  looking,  before  he  left  London. 

There  were  few  people  about ;  one  or  two  well-known 
lawyers  and  merchants  were  riding  Dy  to  have  their  morning 
canter  in  the  Park  ;  the  shops  were  being  opened.  Over  there 
was  the  house — with  its  dark  front  of  bricks,  its  hard  ivy 
and  its  small  windows  with  formal  red  curtains — in  which 
Sheila  was  immured.  That  was  certainly  not  the  palace  that 
a  beautiful  Sea-Princess  should  have  inhabited.  Where  were 
the  pine  woods  around  it,  and  the  lofty  hills,  and  the  wild 
beating  of  the  waves  on  the  sands  below  ?  And  now  it  seemed 

2  B 


370  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

strange  and  sad  that  just  as  he  was  about  to  go  away  to  the 
North,  and  breathe  the  keen  air  again,  and  find  the  strong 
west  winds  blowing  down  the  great  glens  and  through  the 
shivering  breekan,  Sheila,  a  daughter  of  the  sea  and  the 
rocks,  should  be  hiding  herself  in  obscure  lodgings  in  the 
heart  of  a  great  city.  Perhaps — he  could  not  but  think  at  this 
time — if  he  had  only  the  chance  of  speaking  to  her  a  couple 
of  moments  he  could  persuade  her  to  forgive  him  everything 
that  had  happened,  and  go  away  with  him — away  from 
London  and  all  the  associations  that  had  vexed  her  and 
almost  broken  her  heart — to  the  free,  and  open,  and  joyous 
life  on  the  far  sea-coasts  of  the  Hebrides. 

Something  caused  him  to  turn  his  head  for  a  second,  and 
he  knew  that  Sheila  was  coming  along  the  pavement,  not 
from,  but  towards  the  house.  It  was  too  late  to  think  of 
getting  out  of  her  way  ;  and  yet  he  dared  not  go  up  to  her 
and  speak  to  her,  as  he  had  wished  to  do.  She,  too,  had 
seen  him.  There  was  a  quick,  frightened  look  in  her  eyes  ; 
and  then  she  came  along,  with  her  face  pale,  and  her  head 
downcast.  He  did  not  seek  to  interrupt  her.  His  eyes, 
too,  were  lowered  as  she  passed  him  without  taking  any 
notice  of  his  presence,  although  the  sad  face  and  the  troubled 
lips  told  of  the  pain  at  her  heart.  He  had  hoped,  perchance, 
for  one  word,  for  even  a  sign  of  recognition  ;  but  she  went 
by  him  calmly,  gravely,  and  silently.  She  went  into  the 
house  ;  and  he  turned  away,  with  a  weight  at  his  heart,  as 
though  the  gates  of  heaven  had  been  closed  against  him. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
"LIKE  HADRIANUS  AND  AUGUSTUS." 

THE  island  of  Borva  lay  warm,  and  green,  and  basking  under 
a  blue  sky  ;  there  were  no  white  curls  of  foam  on  Loch  Roag, 
but  only  the  long  Atlantic  swell  coming  in  to  fall  on  the 
sandy  beach  ;  away  over  there  in  the  south  the  fine  rose-greys 
and  purples  of  the  giant  Suainabhal  shone  in  the  sunlight 
amid  the  clear  air  ;  and  the  beautiful  seapyots  flew  about  the 
rocks,  their  screaming  being  the  only  sound  audible  in  the 
stillness.  The  King  of  Borva  was  down  by  the  shore,  seated 
on  a  stool,  and  engaged  in  the  idyllic  operation  of  painting  a 


"LIKE  HADRIANUS  AND  AUGUSTUS"       371 

boat  which  had  been  hauled  up  on  the  sand.  It  was  the 
Mcwjlulean-rnliara.  He  would  let  no  one  else  on  the  island 
touch  Sheila's  boat.  Duncan,  it  is  true,  was  permitted  to 
keep  her  masts  and  spars  and  seats  well  and  carefully  polished  ; 
but  as  for  the  decorative  painting  of  the  small  craft — includ- 
ing a  little  bit  of  amateur  gilding — that  was  the  exclusive 
right  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  himself.  For  of  course,  the  old  man 
said  to  himself,  Sheila  was  coming  back  to  Borva  one  of 
these  days  ;  and  she  would  be  proud  to  find  her  own  boat 
bright  and  sound.  If  she  and  her  husband  should  resolve  to 
spend  half  the  year  in  Stornoway,  would  not  the  small  craft 
be  of  use  to  her  there  ;  and  sure  he  was  that  a  prettier  little 
vessel  never  entered  Stornoway  bay.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  at 
this  moment  engaged  in  putting  a  thin  line  of  scarlet  round 
the  white  gunwale,  that  might  have  been  distinguished  across 
Loch  Roag,  so  keen  and  pure  was  the  colour. 

A  much  heavier  boat,  broad-beamed,  red-hulled,  and  brown- 
sailed,  was  slowly  coming  round  the  point  at  this  moment. 
Mr.  Mackenzie  raised  his  eyes  from  his  work,  and  knew  that 
Duncan  was  returning  from  Callernish.  Some  few  minutes 
thereafter  the  boat  was  run  in  to  her  moorings,  and  Duncan 
came  along  the  beach  with  a  parcel  in  his  hand. 

"  Here  wass  your  letters,  sir,"  he  said.  "  And  there  iss  one 
of  them  will  be  from  Miss  Sheila,  if  I  wass  make  no  mistake." 

He  remained  there.  Duncan  generally  knew  pretty  well 
when  a  letter  from  Sheila  was  among  the  documents  he  had 
to  deliver ;  and,  on  such  an  occasion,  he  invariably  lingered 
about  to  hear  the  news,  which  was  immediately  spread  abroad 
throughout  the  island.  The  old  King  of  Borva  was  not  a 
garrulous  man  ;  but  he  was  glad  that  the  people  about  him 
should  know  that  his  Sheila  had  become  a  fine  lady  in  the 
south,  and  saw  fine  things,  and  went  among  fine  people. 
Perhaps  this  notion  of  his  was  a  sort  of  apology  to  them — 
perhaps  it  was  an  apology  to  himself — for  his  having  let  her 
go  away  from  the  island  ;  but  at  all  events  the  simple  folks 
about  Borva  knew  that  Miss  Sheila,  as  they  still  invariably 
called  her,  lived  in  the  same  town  as  the  Queen  herself,  and 
saw  many  lords  and  ladies,  and  was  present  at  great  festivi- 
ties, as  became  Mr.  Mackenzie's  only  daughter.  And  natu- 
rally these  rumours  and  stories  were  exaggerated  by  the  kindly 
interest  and  affection  of  the  people  into  something  far  be- 

2  B  2 


372  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

yond  what  Sheila's  father  intended  ;  insomuch  that  many  an 
old  crone  would  proudly  and  sagaciously  wag  her  head,  and 
say  that  when  Miss  Sheila  came  back  to  Borva  strange  things 
might  be  seen,  and  it  would  be  a  proud  day  for  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie if  he  was  to  go  down  to  the  shore  to  meet  Queen 
Victoria  herself,  and  the  Princes  and  Princesses,  and  many 
fine  people,  all  come  to  stay  at  his  house  and  have  great 
rejoicings  in  Borva. 

Thus  it  was  that  Duncan  invariably  lingered  about  when 
he  brought  a  letter  from  Sheila  ;  and  if  her  father  happened 
to  forget,  or  be  pre-occupied,  Duncan  would  humbly  but 
firmly  remind  him.  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Mackenzie  put 
down  his  paint-brush  and  took  the  bundle  of  letters  and 
newspapers  Duncan  had  given  him.  He  selected  that  from 
Sheila,  and  threw  the  others  on  the  beach  beside  him. 

There  was  really  no  news  in  the  letter.  Sheila  merely  said 
that  she  could  not  as  yet  answer  her  father's  question  as  to 
the  time  she  might  probably  visit  Lewis.  She  hoped  he  was 
well ;  and  that,  if  she  could  not  get  up  to  Borva  that  year, 
he  would  come  south  to  London  for  a  time,  when  the  hard 
weather  set  in  in  the  north.  And  so  forth.  But  there  was 
something  in  the  tone  of  the  letter  that  struck  the  old  man 
as  being  unusual  and  strange.  It  was  very  formal  in  its 
phraseology.  He  read  it  twice  over,  very  carefully,  and  for- 
got altogether  that  Duncan  was  waiting.  Indeed,  he  was 
going  to  turn  away,  unheeding  his  work  and  the  other  letters 
that  still  lay  on  the  beach,  when  he  observed  that  there 
was  a  postscript  on  the  other  side  of  the  last  page.  It 
merely  said — "  Will  you  please  address  your  letters  now  to 
No.  —  Pembroke  Road,  South  Kensington,  where  I  may  le 
for  some  time  ?  " 

That  was  an  imprudent  postscript.  If  she  had  shown  the 
letter  to  anyone,  she  would  have  been  warned  of  the  blunder 
she  was  committing.  But  the  child  had  not  much  cunning  ; 
she  wrote  and  posted  the  letter  in  the  belief  that  her  father 
would  simply  do  as  she  desired  him,  and  suspect  nothing,  and 
ask  no  questions. 

When  old  Mackenzie  read  that  postscript,  he  could  only 
stare  at  the  paper  before  him. 

"  Will  there  be  anything  wrong,  sir  ?  "  said  the  tall  keeper, 
whose  keen  grey  eyes  had  been  fixed  on  his  master's  face. 


" LIKE  HA DRIANUS  AND  AUG US TUS "      373 

The  sound  of  Duncan's  voice  startled  and  recalled  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  who  immediately  turned,  and  said,  lightly — 

"  Wrong  ?  What  wass  you  thinking  would  be  wrong  ?  Oh, 
there  is  nothing  wrong  whatever.  But  Mairi,  she  will  be 
greatly  surprised,  and  she  is  going  to  write  no  letters  until 
she  comes  back  to  tell  you  what  she  has  seen ;  that  is  the 
message  there  will  be  for  Scarlett.  Sheila — she  is  very  well." 

Duncan  picked  up  the  other  letters  and  newspapers. 

"  You  may  tek  them  to  the  house,  Duncan,"  said  Mr. 
Mackenzie ;  and  then  he  added,  carelessly,  "  Did  you  hear 
when  the  steamer  was  thinking  of  leaving  Stornoway  this 
night  ?" 

"  They  were  saying  it  would  be  seven  o'clock  or  six,  as 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  cargo  to  go  on  her." 

"  Six  o'clock  ?  I'm  thinking,  Duncan,  I  would  like  to  go 
with  her  as  far  as  Oban  or  Glasgow.  Oh  yes,  I  will  go  with 
her  as  far  as  Glasgow.  Be  sharp,  Duncan,  and  bring  in 
the  boat." 

The  keeper  stared,  fearing  his  master  had  gone  mad. 

"  You  wass  going  with  her  this  ferry  night  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Be  sharp,  Duncan  !  "  said  Mackenzie,  doing  his 
best  to  conceal  his  impatience  and  determination  under  a 
careless  air. 

"Bit,  sir,  you  canna  do  it,"  said  Duncan,  peevishly. 
"  You  hef  no  things  looked  out  to  go.  And  by  the  time  we 
would  get  to  Callernish,  it  wass  a  ferry  hard  drive  there  will 
be  to  get  to  Stornoway  by  six  o'clock  ;  and  there  is  the  mare, 
sir,  she  will  hef  lost  a  shoe " 

Mr.  Mackenzie's  diplomacy  gave  way.  He  turned  upon 
the  keeper  with  a  sudden  fierceness,  and  with  a  stamp  of  his 
foot. 

" you,  Duncan  MacDonald,  is  it  you  or  me  that  is 

the»master  ?  I  will  go  to  Stornoway  this  ferry  moment  if  I 
hef  to  buy  twenty  horses  ! "  And  there  was  a  light  under 
the  shaggy  eyebrows  that  warned  Duncan  to  have  done  with 
his  remonstrances. 

"  Oh,  ferry  well,  sir — ferry  well,  sir,"  he  said,  going  off  to 
the  boat,  and  grumbling  as  he  went.  "  If  Miss  Sheila  wass 
here,  it  would  be  no  going  away  to  Glesca  without  any  things 
wis  you,  as  if  you  wass  a  poor  traffelin  tailor  that  hass  nothing 
in  the  world  but  a  needle  and  a  thimble  mirover.  And  what 


374  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

will  the  people  in  Styornoway  hef  to  say,  and  sa  captain  of 
sa  steamboat ;  and  Scarlett — I  will  hef  no  peace  from  Scarlett 
if  you  wass  going  away  like  this.  And  as  for  sa  sweerin, 
it  is  no  use  sa  sweerin,  for  I  will  get  sa  boat  ready — oh  yes, 
I  will  get  the  boat  ready — but  I  do  not  understand  why  I 
will  get  sa  boat  ready." 

By  this  time,  indeed,  he  had  got  along  to  the  larger  boat, 
and  his  grumblings  were  inaudible  to  the  object  of  them. 
Mr.  Mackenzie  went  to  the  small  landing-place,  and  waited. 
When  he  got  into  the  boat,  and  sat  down  in  the  stern,  taking 
the  tiller  in  his  right  hand,  he  still  held  Sheila's  letter  in  the 
other  hand,  although  he  did  not  need  to  re-read  it. 

They  sailed  out  into  the  rippling  waters  of  the  loch,  and 
rounded  the  point  of  the  island,  in  absolute  silence,  Duncan 
meanwhile  being  both  sulky  and  curious.  He  could  not 
make  out  why  his  master  should  so  suddenly  leave  the  island, 
without  informing  anyone,  without  even  taking  with  him 
that  tall  and  roughly-furred  black  hat  which  he  ordinarily 
wore  on  important  occasions.  Yet  there  was  a  letter  in  his 
hand  ;  and  it  was  a  letter  from  Miss  Sheila.  Was  the  news 
about  Mairi  the  only  news  in  it  ? 

Duncan  kept  looking  ahead  to  see  that  the  boat  was  steer- 
ing her  right  course  for  the  Narrows,  and  was  anxious,  now 
that  he  had  started,  to  make  the  voyage  in  the  least  possible 
time ;  but  all  the  same  his  eyes  would  come  back  to  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  who  sat  very  much  absorbed,  steering  almost 
mechanically,  seldom  looking  ahead,  but  instinctively  guess- 
ing his  course  by  the  outlines  of  the  shore  close  by. 

"  Was  there  any  bad  news,  sir,  from  Miss  Sheila  ?  "  he 
was  compelled  to  say  at  last. 

"  Miss  Sheila  ?  "  said  Mr.  Mackenzie,  impatiently.  "  Is 
it  an  infant  you  are,  that  you  will  call  a  married  woman  by 
such  a  name  ?  " 

Duncan  had  never  been  checked  before  for  a  habit  which 
was  common  to  the  whole  island  of  Borva. 

"  There  iss  no  bad  news,"  continued  Mackenzie  im- 
patiently. "  Is  it  a  story  you  would  like  to  tek  back  to  the 
people  of  Borvabost  ?  " 

"  It  was  no  thought  of  such  a  thing  wass  come  into  my 
head,  sir,"  said  Duncan.  "  There  is  no  one  in  sa  island 
would  like  to  carry  bad  news  about  Miss  Sheila  ;  and  there 


"  LIKE  HADRIANUS  AND  A  UGUSTUS  "      375 

is  no  one  in  sa  island  w.ould  like  to  hear  it — not  anyone 
whatever  ;  and  I  can  answer  for  that." 

"  Then  hold  your  tongue  about  it — there  is  no  bad  news 
from  Sheila,"  said  Mackenzie  ;  and  Duncan  relapsed  into 
silence,  not  very  well  content. 

By  dint  of  very  hard  driving  indeed  Mr.  Mackenzie  just 
caught  the  boat  as  she  was  leaving  Stornoway  harbour  ;  the 
hurry  he  was  in  fortunately  saving  him  from  the  curiosity 
and  inquiries  of  the  people  he  knew  on  the  pier.  As  for 
the  frank  and  good-natured  captain,  he  did  not  show  that 
excessive  interest  in.  Mr.  Mackenzie's  affairs  that  Duncan 
had  feared  ;  but  when  the  steamer  was  well  away  from  the 
coast,  and  bearing  down  on  her  route  to  Skye,  he  came  and 
had  a  chat  with  the  King  of  Borva  about  the  condition  of 
affairs  on  the  west  of  the  island,  and  he  was  good  enough  to 
ask,  too,  about  the  young  lady  who  had  married  the  English 
gentleman.  Mr.  Mackenzie  said  briefly  that  she  was  very 
well ;  and  returned  to  the  subject  of  fishing. 

It  was  on  a  wet  and  dreary  morning  that  Mr.  Mackenzie 
arrived  in  London ;  and  as  he  was  slowly  driven  through 
the  long  and  dismal  thoroughfares,  with  their  grey  and 
melancholy  houses,  their  passers-by  under  umbrellas,  their 
smoke,  and  drizzle,  and  dirt,  he  could  not  help  saying  to 
himself,  "  My  poor  Sheila  !  "  It  was  not  a  pleasant  place 
surely  to  live  in  always,  although  it  might  be  very  well  for 
a  visit.  Indeed,  this  cheerless  day  added  to  the  gloomy 
forebodings  in  his  mind  ;  and  it  needed  all  his  resolve,  and 
his  pride  in  his  own  diplomacy,  to  carry  out  his  plan  of 
approaching  Sheila. 

\Yhen  he  got  to  Pembroke  Road,  he  stopped  the  cab  at 
the  corner,  and  paid  the  man.  Then  he  walked  along  the 
thoroughfare,  having  a  look  at  the  houses.  At  length  he 
came  to  the  number  mentioned  in  Sheila's  letter,  and  he 
found  that  there  was  a  brass  plate  on  the  door  bearing 
an  unfamiliar  name.  His  suspicions  were  confirmed.  He 
"went  up  the  steps  and  knocked  :  a  small  girl  answered  the 
summons. 

"  Is  Mrs.  Lavender  living  here  ?  " 

She  looked  for  a  moment  with  some  surprise  at  the  short, 
thick-set  man,  with  his  sailor  costume,  his  peaked  cap,  and 
his  great  grey  beard  and  shaggy  eyebrows  ;  and  then  she 


376  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

said  that  she  would  ask,  and  what  was  his  name  ?  But 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  too  sharp  not  to  know  what  that  meant. 

"  I  am  her  father.  It  will  do  ferry  well  if  you  will  show 
me  the  room." 

And  he  stepped  inside.  The  small  girl  obediently  shut 
the  door,  and  then  led  the  way  upstairs.  The  next  minute 
Mr.  Mackenzie  had  entered  the  room ;  and  there,  before 
him,  was  Sheila,  bending  over  Mairi,  and  teaching  her  how 
to  do  some  fancy-work. 

The  girl  looked  up,  on  hearing  some  one  enter,  and  then, 
when  she  suddenly  saw  her  father  there,  she  uttered  a  slight 
cry  of  alarm,  and  shrunk  back.  If  he  had  been  less  intent 
on  his  own  plans,  he  would  have  been  amazed  and  pained 
by  this  action  on  the  part  of  his  daughter,  who  used  to  run 
to  him,  on  great  occasions  and  small,  whenever  she  saw 
him  ;  but  the  girl  had  for  the  last  few  days  been  so  habitu- 
ally schooling  herself  into  the  notion  that  she  was  keeping 
a  secret  from  him — she  had  become  so  deeply  conscious  of 
the  concealment  intended  in  the  brief  letter — that  she 
instinctively  shrank  from  him  when  he  suddenly  appeared. 
It  was  but  for  a  moment.  Mr.  Mackenzie  came  forward, 
with  a  fine  assumption  of  carelessness,  and  shook  hands 
with  Sheila  and  with  Mairi,  and  said — 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mairi  ?  And  are  you  ferry  well,  Sheila  ? 
And  you  will  not  expect  me  this  morning  ;  but  when  a  man 
will  not  pay  you  what  he  wass  owing,  it  wass  no  good  letting 
it  go  on  in  that  way,  and  I  hef  come  to  London " 

He  shook  the  rain-drops  from  his  cap,  and  was  a  little 
embarrassed. 

"  Yes,  I  hef  come  to  London  to  have  an  account  settled 
up  ;  for  it  wass  no  good  letting  the  man  go  on  for  effer  and 
effer.  Ay,  and  how  are  you,  Sheila  ?  " 

He  glanced  about  the  room — he  would  not  look  at  her. 
She  stood  there,  unable  to  speak,  and  with  her  face  grown 
wild  and  pale. 

"  Ay,  it  wass  raining  hard  all  the  last  night,  and  there  wass 
a  good  deal  of  water  came  into  the  carriage  ;  and  it  iss  a  ferry- 
hard  bed  you  will  make  of  a  third-class  carriage.  Ay,  it 
wass  so.  And  this  is  a  new  house  you  will  hef,  Sheila " 

She  had  been  coming  nearer  to  him,  with  her  face  down, 
and  the  speechless  lips  trembling.  And  then  suddenly, 


"  LIKE  HADRIANUS  AND  A  UGUSTUS  "       377 

with  a  strange  sob,  she  threw  herself  into  his  arms,  and  hid 
her  head,  and  burst  into  a  wild  fit  of  crying. 

"  Sheila,"  he  said,  "  what  ails  you  ?  What  iss  all  the 
matter  ?  " 

Mairi  had  covertly  got  out  of  the  room. 

"  Oh,  papa,  I  have  left  him,"  the  girl  cried. 

"  Ay,"  said  her  father,  quite  cheerfully, "  oh,  ay,  I  thought 
there  was  some  little  thing  wrong  when  your  letter  wass 
come  to  us  the  other  day.  But  it  is  no  use  making  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  about  it,  Sheila  ;  for  it  is  easy  to  have  all  those 
things  put  right  again — oh  yes,  ferry  easy.  And  you  hef  left 
your  own  home,  Sheila  ?  And  where  is  Mr.  Lavender  ?  " 

"  Oh,  papa,"  she  cried,  "  you  must  not  try  to  see  him. 
You  must  promise  not  to  go  to  see  him.  I  should  have 
told  you  everything  when  I  wrote,  but  I  thought  you  would 
come  up,  and  blame  it  all  on  him,  and  I  think  it  is  I  who 
am  to  blame " 

"  But  I  do  not  want  to  blame  anyone,"  said  her  father. 
"  You  must  not  make  so  much  of  these  things,  Sheila.  It 
is  a  pity — yes,  it  is  a  ferry  great  pity — your  husband  and 
you  will  hef  a  quarrel ;  but  it  iss  no  uncommon  thing  for 
these  troubles  to  happen  ;  and  I  am  coming  to  you  this 
morning,  not  to  make  any  more  trouble,  but  to  see  if  it 
cannot  be  put  right  again.  And  I  do  not  want  to  know 
any  more  than  that ;  and  I  will  not  blame  anyone  ;  but  if 
I  wass  to  see  Mr.  Lavender " 

A  bitter  anger  had  filled  his  heart  from  the  moment  he 
had  learned  how  matters  stood  ;  and  yet  he  was  talking  in 
such  a  bland,  matter-of-fact,  almost  cheerful  fashion,  that 
his  own  daughter  was  imposed  upon,  and  began  to  grow 
comforted.  The  mere  fact  that  her  father  now  knew  of  all 
her  troubles,  and  was  not  disposed  to  take  a  very  gloomy 
view  of  them,  was  of  itself  a  great  relief  to  her.  And  she 
was  greatly  pleased,  too,  to  hear  her  father  talk  in  the  same 
light  and  even  friendly  fashion  of  her  husband.  She  had 
dreaded  the  possible  results  of  her  writing  home  and  relating 
what  had  occurred.  She  knew  the  powerful  passion  of 
which  this  lonely  old  man  was  capable  ;  and  if  he  had  come 
suddenly  south,  with  a  wild  desire  to  revenge  the  wrongs  of 
his  daughter,  what  might  not  have  happened  ? 

Sheila  sat  down,  and  with  averted  eyes  told  her  father  the 


378  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

whole  story,  ingenuously  making  all  possible  excuses  for  her 
husband,  and  intimating  strongly  that  the  more  she  looked 
over  the  history  of  the  past  time,  the  more  she  was  con- 
vinced that  she  was  herself  to  blame.  It  was  but  natural 
that  Mr.  Lavender  should  like  to  live  in  the  manner  to  which 
he  had  been  accustomed.  She  had  tried  to  live  that  way 
too  ;  and  the  failure  to  do  so  was  surely  her  fault.  He  had 
been  very  kind  to  her.  He  was  always  buying  her  new 
dresses,  jewellery,  and  what  not ;  and  was  always  pleased  to 
take  her  to  be  amused  anywhere.  All  this  she  said,  and  a 
great  deal  more  ;  and  although  Mr.  Mackenzie  did  not  believe 
the  half  of  it,  he  did  not  say  so. 

"  Ay,  ay.  Sheila,"  he  said,  cheerfully,  "  but  if  everything 
was  right  like  that,  what  for  will  you  be  here  ?  " 

"  But  everything  was  not  right,  papa,"  the  girl  said,  still 
with  her  eyes  cast  down.  "  I  could  not  live  any  longer  like 
that ;  and  I  had  to  come  away.  That  is  my  fault ;  and  I 
could  not  help  it.  And  there  was  a — a  misunderstanding 
between  us  about  Mairi's  visit — for  I  had  said  nothing 
about  it — and  he  Avas  surprised — and  he  had  some  friends 
coming  to  see  us  that  day " 

"  Oh,  well,  there  iss  no  great  harm  done — no,  no,"  said 
her  father  lightly,  and  perhaps  beginning  to  think  that  after 
all  something  was  to  be  said  on  Lavender's  side  of  the 
question.  "And  you  will  not  suppose,  Sheila,  that  I  am 
coming  to  make  any  trouble  by  quarrelling  with  anyone. 
There  are  some  men — oh  yes,  there  are  ferry  many — that 
would  hef  no  judgment  at  such  a  time ;  and  they  would 
think  only  about  their  daughter ;  and  hef  no  regard  for 
anyone  else  ;  and  they  would  only  make  effery  one  angrier 
than  before.  But  you  will  tell  me,  Sheila,  where  Mr. 
Lavender  is " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  she  said.  "  And  I  am  anxious,  papa, 
you  should  not  go  to  see  him.  I  must  ask  you  to  promise 
me  that — to  please  me." 

He  hesitated.  There  were  not  many  things  he  could 
refuse  his  daughter  ;  but  he  was  not  sure  he  ought  to  yield 
to  her  in  this.  For  were  not  these  two  a  couple  of  foolish 
young  things,  who  wanted  an  experienced,  and  cool,  and 
shrewd  person  to  come  with  a  little  dexterous  management 
and  arrange  their  affairs  for  them  ? 


"  LIKE  HADRIANUS  AND  A  UGUSTUS  "       379 

"  I  do  not  think  I  have  half  explained  the  difference 
between  us,"  said  Sheila,  in  the  same  low  voice.  "  It  is  no 
passing  quarrel  to  be  mended  up  and  forgotten — it  is 
nothing  like  that.  You  must  leave  it  alone,  papa." 

"  That  is  foolishness,  Sheila,"  said  the  old  man,  with  a 
little  impatience.  "You  are  making  big  things  out  of 
ferry  little ;  and  you  will  only  bring  trouble  to  yourself. 
How  do  you  know  but  that  he  wishes  to  hef  all  this 
misunderstanding  removed,  and  hef  you  go  back  to  him  ?  " 

"  I  know  that  he  wishes  that,"  she  said,  calmly. 

"  And  you  speak  as  if  you  wass  in  heavy  trouble  here, 
and  yet  you  wiU  not  go  back  ?  "  he  said,  in  great  surprise. 

"Yes,  that  is  so,"  she  said.  "There  is  no»use  in  my 
going  back  to  the  same  sort  of  life  :  it  was  not  happiness 
for  either  of  us — and  to  me  it  was  misery.  If  I  am  to 
blame  for  it,  that  is  only  a  misfortune." 

"  But  if  you  will  not  go  back  to  him,  Sheila,"  her  father 
said,  "  at  least  you  will  go  back  with  me  to  Borva." 

"  I  cannot  do  that  either,"  said  the  girl,  with  the  same 
quiet  yet  decisive  manner. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  rose,  with  an  impatient  gesture,  and 
walked  to  the  window.  He  did  not  know  what  to  say. 
He  was  very  well  aware  that  when  Sheila  had  resolved  upon 
anything,  she  had  thought  it  weh1  over  beforehand,  and  was 
not  likely  to  change  her  mind.  And  yet  the  notion  of  his 
daughter  living  in  lodgings  in  a  strange  town — her  only 
companion  a  young  girl  who  had  never  been  in  the  place 
before — was  vexatiously  absurd. 

"Sheila,"  he  said,  "you  will  come  to  a  better  under- 
standing about  that.  I  suppose  you  wass  afraid  the  people 
would  wonder  at  your  coming  back  alone.  But  they  will 
know  nothing  about  it.  Mairi  she  is  a  ferry  good  lass  ;  she 
will  do  anything  you  will  ask  of  her  ;  you  hef  no  need  to 
think  she  will  carry  stories.  And  everyone  was  thinking 
you  will  be  coming  to  the  Lewis  this  year  ;  and  it  is  ferry 
glad  they  will  be  to  see  you  ;  and  if  the  house  at  Borvabost 
has  not  enough  amusement  for  you,  after  you  have  been  in 
a  big  town  like  this,  you  will  live  in  Styornoway  with  some 
of  our  friends  there,  and  you  will  come  over  to  Borva  when 
you  please." 

"  If  I  went  up  to  the  Lewis,"  said  Sheila,  "  do  you  think 


380  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

I  could  live  anywhere  but  in  Borva  ?  It  is  not  any 
amusements  I  will  be  thinking  about.  But  I  cannot  go 
back  to  the  Lewis  alone." 

Her  father  saw  how  the  pride  of  the  girl  had  driven  her 
to  this  decision  ;  and  saw,  too,  how  useless  it  was  for  him 
to  reason  with  her  just  at  the  present  moment.  Still  there 
was  plenty  of  occasion  here  for  the  use  of  a  little  diplomacy, 
merely  to  smooth  the  way  for  the  reconciliation  of  husband 
and  wife  ;  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  concluded  in  his  own  mind 
that  it  was  far  from  injudicious  to  allow  Sheila  to  convince 
herself  that  she  bore  part  of  the  blame  of  this  separation. 
For  example,  he  now  proposed  that  the  discussion  of  the 
whole  question  should  be  postponed  for  the  present  ;  and 
that  Sheila  should  take  him  about  London  and  show  him 
all  that  she  had  learned  ;  and  he  suggested  that  they 
should  then  and  there  get  a  hansom  cab  and  drive  to  some 
exhibition  or  other. 

"  A  hansom,  papa  ?  "  said  Sheila.  "  Mairi  must  go  with 
us,  you  know." 

This  was  precisely  what  he  had  angled  for  ;  and  he  said, 
with  a  show  of  impatience — 

"  Mairi ;  how  can  we  take  about  Mairi  to  every  place  ? 
Mairi  is  a  ferry  good  lass — oh,  yes — but  she  is  a  servant- 
lass." 

The  words  nearly  stuck  in  his  throat ;  and,  indeed,  had 
any  other  addressed  such  a  phrase  to  one  of  his  kith  and 
kin  there  would  have  been  an  explosion  of  rage  ;  but  now 
he  was  determined  to  show  to  Sheila  that  her  husband  had 
some  cause  for  objecting  to  this  girl  sitting  down  with  his 
friends. 

But  neither  husband  nor  father  could  make  Sheila  for- 
swear allegiance  to  what  her  own  heart  told  her  was  just, 
and  honourable,  and  generous  ;  and  indeed  her  father  at 
this  moment  was  not  displeased  to  see  her  turn  round  on 
himself,  with  a  touch  of  indignation  in  her  voice. 

"  Mairi  is  my  guest,  papa,"  she  said.  "  It  is  not  like  you 
to  think  of  leaving  her  at  home." 

"  Oh,  it  wass  of  no  consequence,"  said  old  Mackenzie, 
carelessly — indeed,  he  was  not  sorry  to  have  met  with  this 
rebuff.  "Mairi  is  a  ferry  good  girl — oh,  yes — but  there 
are  many  who  would  not  forget  she  is  a  servant-lass,  and 


"  LIKE  HADRIANUS  AND  A  UG  US  TUS  "      38 1 

would  not  like  to  be  always  taking  her  with  them.  And 
you  hef  lived  a  long  time  in  London " 

"  I  have  not  lived  long  enough  in  London  to  make  me 
forget  my  friends,  or  insult  them,"  Sheila  said,  with  proud 
lips,  and  yet  turning  to  the  window  to  hide  her  face. 

"  My  lass,  I  did  not  mean  any  harm  whatever,"  her 
father  said,  gently  ;  "  I  wass  saying  nothing  against  Mairi. 
Go  away  and  bring  her  into  the  room,  Sheila  ;  and  we  will 
see  what  we  can  do  now,  and  if  there  is  a  theatre  we  can  go 
to  this  evening.  And  I  must  go  out,  too,  to  buy  some 
things ;  for  you  are  a  ferry  fine  lady  now,  Sheila,  and  I 
was  coming  away  in  such  a  hurry " 

"  Where  is  your  luggage,  papa  ?  "  she  said,  suddenly. 

"  Oh,  luggage  ?  "  said  Mackenzie,  looking  round  in  great 
embarrassment.  "  It  wass  luggage  you  said,  Sheila  ?  Ay, 
well,  it  was  a  hurry  I  wass  in  when  I  came  away — for 
this  man  he  will  hef  to  pay  me  at  once — and  there  wass 
no  time  for  any  luggage — oh  no,  there  wass  no  time, 
because  Duncan  he  wass  late  with  the  boat,  and  the  mare 
she  had  a  shoe  to  put  on — and — and — oh  no,  there  wass  no 
time  for  any  luggage." 

"  But  what  was  Scarlett  about,  to  let  you  come  away  like 
that  ?  "  Sheila  said. 

"  Scarlett  ?  Well,  Scarlett  did  not  know — it  was  all  in 
such  a  hurry.  Now  go  and  bring  in  Mairi,  Sheila ;  and 
we  will  speak  about  the  theatre." 

But  there  was  to  be  no  theatre  for  any  of  them  that 
evening.  Sheila  was  just  about  to  leave  the  room  to 
summon  Mairi,  when  the  small  girl  who  had  let  Mackenzie 
into  the  house  appeared  and  said — 

"  Please  m'm,  there  is  a  young  woman  below  who  wishes 
to  see  you.  She  has  a  message  to  you  from  Mrs.  Paterson." 

"  Mrs.  Paterson  ? "  Sheila  said,  wondering  how  Mrs. 
Lavender's  henchwoman  should  have  been  entrusted  with 
any  such  commission.  "  Will  you  ask  her  to  come  up  ?  " 

The  girl  came  up  stairs,  looking  rather  frightened,  and 
much  out  of  breath. 

"  Please  m'm,  Mrs.  Paterson  has  sent  me  to  tell  you,  and 
would  you  please  come  as  soon  as  it  is  convenient.  Mrs. 
Lavender  has  died.  It  was  quite  sudden — only  she 
recovered  a  little  after  the  fit,  and  then  sank  ;  the  doctor  is 


382  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

there  now ;  but  he  wasn't  in  time,  it  was  all  so  sudden. 
Will  you  please  come  round,  m'm  ?  " 

"Yes — I  shall  be  there  directly,"  said  Sheila,  too 
bewildered  and  stunned  to  think  of  the  possibility  of 
meeting  her  husband  there. 

The  girl  left ;  and  Sheila  still  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
room  apparently  stupefied.  That  old  woman  had  got  into 
such  a  habit  of  talking  about  her  approaching  death  that 
Sheila  had  ceased  to  believe  her,  and  had  grown  to  fancy 
that  these  morbid  speculations  were  indulged  in  chiefly  for 
the  sake  of  shocking  bystanders.  But  a  dead  man  or  a 
dead  woman  is  suddenly  invested  with  a  great  solemnity  ; 
and  Sheila,  with  a  pang  of  remorse,  thought  of  the  fashion 
in  which  she  had  suspected  this  old  woman  of  a  godless 
hypocrisy.  She  felt,  too,  that  she  had  unjustly  disliked 
Mrs.  Lavender — that  she  had  feared  to  go  near  her,  and 
blamed  her  unfairly  for  many  things  that  had  happened. 
In  her  own  way  that  old  woman  in  Kensington  Gore  had 
been  kind  to  her  ;  perhaps  the  girl  was  a  little  ashamed  of 
herself  at  this  moment  that  she  did  not  cry. 

Her  father  went  out  with  her,  and  up  to  the  house  with 
the  dusty  ivy  and  the  red  curtains.  How  strangely  like 
was  the  aspect  of  the  house  inside  to  the  very  picture  that 
Mrs.  Lavender  had  herself  drawn  of  her  death.  Sheila 
could  remember  all  the  ghastly  details  that  the  old  woman 
seemed  to  have  a  malicious  delight  in  describing,  and  here 
they  were — the  shutters  drawn  down,  the  servants  walking 
about  on  tiptoe,  the  strange  silence  in  one  particular  room. 
The  little  shrivelled  old  body  lay  quite  still  and  calm  now  ; 
and  yet  as  Sheila  went  to  the  bedside  she  could  hardly 
believe  that  within  that  forehead  there  was  not  some 
consciousness  of  the  scene  around.  Lying  almost  in  the 
same  position,  the  old  woman,  with  a  sardonic  smile  on  her 
face,  had  spoken  of  the  time  when  she  should  be  speechless, 
sightless,  and  deaf,  while  Paterson  would  go  about  stealthily 
as  if  she  was  afraid  the  corpse  would  hear.  Was  it  possible 
to  believe  that  the  dead  body  was  not  conscious  at  this 
moment  that  Paterson  was  really  going  about  in  that 
fashion — that  the  blinds  were  down,  friends  standing  some 
little  distance  from  the  bed,  a  couple  of  doctors  talking  to 
each  other  in  the  passage  outside  ? 


383 

They  went  into  another  room,  and  then  Sheila,  with  a 
sudden  shiver,  remembered  that  soon  her  husband  would  be 
coming,  and  might  meet  her  and  her  father  there. 

"  You  have  sent  for  Mr.  Lavender  ?  "  she  said,  calmly,  to 
Mrs.  Paterson. 

"  Xo,  ma'am,"  Paterson  said,  with  more  than  her  ordinary 
gravity  and  formality.  "  I  did  not  know  where  to  send  for 
him.  He  left  London  some  days  ago.  Perhaps  you  would 
read  the  letter,  ma'am." 

She  offered  Sheila  an  open  letter.  The  girl  saw  that  it 
was  in  her  husband's  handwriting  ;  but  she  shrank  from  it 
as  though  she  were  violating  the  secrets  of  the  grave. 

"  Oh  no,"  she  said,  "  I  cannot  do  that." 

"  Mrs.  Lavender,  ma'am,  meant  you  to  read  it,  after  she 
had  had  her  will  altered.  She  told  me  so.  It  is  a  very  sad 
thing,  ma'am,  that  she  did  not  live  to  carry  out  her 
intentions  ;  for  she  has  been  inquiring,  ma'am,  these  last 
few  days,  as  to  how  she  could  leave  everything  to  you, 
ma'am,  which  she  intended,  and  now  the  other  will " 

"  Oh,  don't  talk  about  that  I  "  said  Sheila.  It  seemed  to 
her  that  the  dead  body  in  the  adjacent  room  would  be 
laughing  hideously,  if  only  it  could,  at  this  fulfilment  of  all 
the  sardonic  prophecies  that  Mrs.  Lavender  used  to  make. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  ma'am,"  Paterson  said,  in  the  same 
formal  way,  as  if  she  were  a  machine  set  to  work  in  a 
particular  direction,  "  I  only  mentioned  the  will  to  explain 
why  Mrs.  Lavender  wished  you  to  read  this  letter." 

"  Read  the  letter,  Sheila,"  said  her  father. 

The  girl  took  it  and  carried  it  to  the  window.  While 
she  was  there,  old  Mackenzie,  who  had  fewer  scruples  about 
such  matters,  and  who  had  the  curiosity  natural  to  a  man 
of  the  world,  said  to  Mrs.  Paterson — not  loud  enough  for 
Sheila  to  overhear — 

"  I  suppose,  then,  the  poor  old  lady  has  left  her  property 
to  her  nephew  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Paterson,  somewhat  sadly,  for  she 
fancied  she  was  the  bearer  of  bad  news.  "  She  had  a  will 
drawn  out  only  a  short  time  ago,  and  nearly  everything  is 
left  to  Mr.  Ingram." 

"  To  Mr.  Ingram  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  woman,  amazed  to  see  that  Mackenzie's 


384  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

face,  so  far  from  evincing  displeasure,  seemed  to  be  as 
delighted  as  it  was  surprised. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Paterson,  "  I  was  one  of  the 
witnesses.  But  Mrs.  Lavender  changed  her  mind  ;  and  was 
very  anxious  that  everything  should  go  to  your  daughter,  if 
it  could  be  done,  and  Mr.  Appleyard,  sir,  was  to  come  here 
to-morrow  morning." 

"  And  has  Mr.  Lavender  got  no  money  whatever  ?  "  said 
Sheila's  father,  with  an  air  that  convinced  Mrs.  Paterson 
that  he  was  a  revengeful  man,  and  was  glad  that  his  son-in- 
law  should  be  so  severely  punished. 

"  I  don't  know,  sir,"  she  replied,  careful  not  to  go  beyond 
her  own  sphere. 

Sheila  came  back  from  the  window.  She  had  taken  a 
long  time  to  read  and  ponder  over  that  letter  ;  though  it 
was  not  a  lengthy  one.  This  was  what  Frank  Lavender  had 
written  to  his  aunt  :  —  "  My  dear  Aunt  Lavender,  —  I  suppose 
when  you  read  this  you  will  think  I  am  in  a  bad  temper 
because  of  what  you  said  to  me.  It  is  not  so.  But  I  am 
leaving  London  ;  and  I  wish  to  hand  over  to  you  before  I  go 
the  charge  of  my  house,  and  to  ask  you  to  take  possession  of 
everything  in  it  that  does  not  belong  to  Sheila.  These 
things  are  yours,  as  you  know  ;  and  I  have  to  thank  you 
very  much  for  the  loan  of  them.  I  have  to  thank  you  for 
the  far  too  liberal  allowance  you  have  made  me  for  many 
years  back.  Will  you  think  I  have  gone  mad  if  I  ask  you 
to  stop  that  now  ?  The  fact  is,  I  am  going  to  have  a  try  at 
earning  something,  for  the  fun  of  the  thing  ;  and,  to  make 
the  experiment  satisfactory,  I  start  to-morrow  morning  for 
a  district  in  the  West  Highlands,  where  the  most  ingenious 
fellow  I  know  couldn't  get  a  penny  loaf  on  credit.  You 
have  been  very  good  to  me,  Aunt  Lavender  ;  I  wish  I  had 
made  a  better  use  of  your  kindness.  So  good-bye  just  now, 
and  if  ever  I  come  back  to  London  again  I  shall  call  on  you 
and  thank  you  in  person. 

"  I  am,  your  affectionate  nephew, 

LAVEXDEK." 


So  far  the  letter  was  almost  businesslike.  There  was  no 
reference  to  the  causes  which  were  sending  him  away  from 
London,  and  which  had  already  driven  him  to  this  extra- 


"  LIKE  HADRIANUS  AND  A  UG US TUS  "       385 

ordinary  resolution  about  the  money  he  got  from  his  aunt. 
But  at  the  end  of  the  letter  there  was  a  brief  postscript, 
apparently  written  at  the  last  moment,  the  words  of  which 
were  these  : — 

"  Be,  kind  to  Sheila.  Be  as  kind  to  her  as  I  have  been 
cruel  to  her.  In  going  away  from  her  I  feel  as  though  I  were 
exiled  by  man  and  forsaken  by  God" 

She  came  back  from  the  window  with  the  letter  in  her 
hand. 

"  I  think  you  may  read,  too  it,  Papa,"  she  said  ;  for  she 
was  anxious  that  her  father  should  know  that  Lavender 
had  voluntarily  surrendered  this  money  before  he  was 
deprived  of  it.  Then  she  returned  to  the  window. 

The  slow  rain  fell  from  the  dismal  skies,  on  the  pavement, 
and  the  railings,  and  the  now  almost  leafless  trees.  The 
atmosphere  was  filled  with  a  thin  white  mist,  and  the  people 
going  by  were  hidden  under  umbrellas.  It  was  a  dreary 
picture  enough  ;  and  yet  Sheila  was  thinking  of  how  much 
drearier  such  a  day  would  be  on  some  lonely  coast  in  the 
north,  with  the  hills  obscured  behind  the  wet,  and  the  sea 
beating  hopelessly  on  the  sand.  She  thought  of  some  small 
and  dark  Highland  cottage,  with  narrow  windows,  a  smell 
of  damp  wood  about,  and  the  monotonous  drip  from  over 
the  door.  And  it  seemed  to  her  that  a  stranger  there  would 
be  very  solitary,  not  knowing  the  ways  or  the  speech  of  the 
simple  folk,  careless  perhaps  of  his  own  comfort,  and  only 
listening  to  the  plashing  of  the  sea  and  the  incessant  drip  on 
the  bushes  and  on  the  pebbles  of  the  beach.  "Was  there  any 
picture  of  desolation,  she  thought,  like  that  of  a  sea  under 
rain,  with  a  slight  fog  obscuring  the  air,  and  with  no  wind 
to  stir  the  pulse  with  the  noise  of  waves  ?  And  if  Frank 
Lavender  had  only  gone  as  far  as  the  Western  Highlands, 
and  was  living  in  some  house  on  the  coast,  how  sad  and  still 
the  Atlantic  must  have  been  all  this  wet  forenoon,  with  the 
islands  of  Colonsay  and  Oronsay  lying  remote  and  grey,  and 
misty  in  the  far  and  desolate  plain  of  water. 

"  It  will  take  a  great  deal  of  responsibility  from  me,  sir," 
Mrs.  Paterson  said  to  old  Mackenzie,  who  was  absently 
thinking  of  all  the  strange  possibilities  now  opening  out 

2  c 


386  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

before  him,  "  if  you  will  tell  me  what  is  to  be  done.  Mrs. 
Lavender  had  no  relatives  in  London  except  her  nephew." 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  Mackenzie,  waking  up  ;  "  oh  yes  ;  we  will 
see  what  is  to  be  done.  There  will  be  the  boat  wanted  for 
the  funeral " 

He  recalled  himself  with  an  impatient  gesture. 

"  Bless  me,"  he  said,  "  what  wass  I  saying  ?  You  must 
ask  some  one  else — you  must  ask  Mr.  Ingram.  Hef  you 
not  sent  for  Mr.  Ingram  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes,  sir,  I  have  sent  to  him  ;  and  he  will  most  likely 
come  in  the  afternoon." 

"  Then  there  are  the  executors  mentioned  in  the  will — • 
that  wass  something  you  should  know  about ;  and  they  will 
tell  you  what  to  do.  As  for  me,  it  is  ferry  little  I  will 
know  about  such  things." 

"  Perhaps  your  daughter,  sir,"  suggested  Mrs.  Paterson, 
"  would  tell  me  what  she  thinks  should  be  done  with  the 
rooms And  as  for  luncheon,  sir,  if  you  would  wait — 

"  Oh,  my  daughter  ?  "  said  Mr.  Mackenzie,  as  if  struck 
by  a  new  idea,  but  determined  all  the  same  that  Sheila 
should  not  have  this  new  responsibility  thrust  on  her.  "  My 
daughter  ? — well,  you  wass  saying,  mem,  that  my  daughter 
would  help  you  ?  Oh  yes,  but  she  is  a  ferry  young  thing, 
and  you  wass  saying  we  must  hef  luncheon  ?  Oh  yes,  but 
we  will  not  give  you  so  much  trouble,  and  we  hef  luncheon 
ordered  at  the  other  house  whatever  ;  and  there  is  the  young 
girl  there  that  we  cannot  leave  all  by  herself.  And  you  hef 
a  great  experience,  mem,  and  whatever  you  do,  that  will  be 
right ;  do  not  have  any  fear  of  that.  And  I  will  come 
round  when  you  want  me — oh  yes,  I  will  come  round  at  any 
time  ;  but  my  daughter,  she  is  a  ferry  young  thing,  and  she 
would  be  of  no  use  to  you  whatever — none  whatever.  And 
when  Mr.  Ingram  comes  you  will  send  him  round  to  the 
place  where  my  daughter  is,  for  we  will  want  to  see  him  if 
he  hass  the  time  to  come.  But  where  is  Sheila  ?  " 

Sheila  had  quietly  left  the  room  and  stolen  into  the  silent 
chamber  in  which  the  dead  woman  lay.  They  found  her 
standing  close  by  the  bedside,  almost  in  a  trance. 

"  Sheila,"  said  her  father,  taking  her  hand,  "  come  away 
now,  like  a  good  girl.  It  is  no  use  your  waiting  here  ;  and 
Main — what  Mairi  be  doing  ?  " 


"LIKE  HADRIAN  US  AND  AUGUSTUS"      387 

She  suffered  herself  to  be  led  away  ;  and  they  went  home 
and  had  luncheon  ;  but  the  girl  could  not  eat  for  the  notion 
that  somewhere  or  other  a  pair  of  eyes  were  looking  at  her, 
and  were  hideously  laughing  at  her,  as  if  to  remind  her  of 
the  prophecy  of  the  old  woman,  that  her  friends  would  sit 
down  to  a  comfortable  meal  and  begin  to  wonder  what  sort 
of  mourning  they  would  have. 

It  was  not  until  the  evening  that  Ingram  called.  He  had 
been  greatly  surprised  to  hear  from  Mrs.  Paterson  that  Mr. 
Mackenzie  had  been  there,  along  with  his  daughter  ;  and  he 
now  expected  to  find  the  old  King  of  Borva  in  a  towering 
passion.  He  found  him,  on  the  contrary,  as  bland  and  as 
pleased  as  decency  would  admit  in  view  of  the  tragedy  that 
had  occurred  in  the  morning  ;  and,  indeed,  as  Mackenzie  had 
never  seen  Mrs.  Lavender,  there  was  less  reason  why  he 
should  wear  the  outward  semblance  of  grief.  Sheila's  father 
asked  her  to  go  out  of  the  room  for  a  little  while  ;  and  when 
she  and  Mairi  had  gone,  he  said  cheerfully — 

"  "\Vell,  Mr.  Ingram,  and  it  is  a  rich  man  you  are  at  last." 

"  Mrs.  Paterson  said  she  had  told  you,"  Ingram  said, 
with  a  shrug.  "  You  never  expected  to  find  me  rich,  did 
you  ?  " 

"  Never,"  said  Mackenzie,  frankly.  "  But  it  is  a  ferry 
good  thing — oh  yes,  it  is  a  ferry  good  thing — to  hef  money 
and  be  independent  of  people.  And  you  will  make  a  good 
use  of  it,  I  know." 

"  You  don't  seem  disposed,  sir,  to  regret  that  Lavender 
has  been  robbed  of  what  should  have  belonged  to  him  ?  " 

"  Oh,  not  at  all,"  said  Mackenzie,  gravely  and  cautiously, 
for  he  did  not  want  his  plans  to  be  displayed  prematurely. 
"  But  I  hef  no  quarrel  with  him  ;  so  you  will  not  think  I 
am  glad  to  hef  the  money  taken  away  for  that.  Oh  no  ;  I 
hef  seen  a  great  many  men  and  women  ;  and  it  wass  no 
strange  thing  that  these  two  young  ones  living  all  by  them- 
selves in  London,  should  hef  a  quarrel.  But  it  will  come  all 
right  again  if  we  do  not  make  too  much  about  it.  If  they 
like  one  another,  they  will  soon  come  together  again,  tek 
my  word  for  it,  Mr.  Ingram  ;  and  I  hef  seen  a  great  many 
men  and  women.  And  as  for  the  money — well,  as  for  the 
money,  I  hef  plenty  for  my  Sheila,  and  she  will  not  starve 
when  I  die,  no,  nor  before  that  either  ;  and  as  for  the  poor 

2  C  2 


383  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

old  woman  that  has  died,  I  am  ferry  glad  she  left  her  money 
to  one  that  will  make  a  good  use  of  it,  and  will  not  throw  it 
away  whatever." 

"  Oh,  but  you  know,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  you  are  congratulating 
me  without  cause.  I  must  tell  you  how  the  matter  stands. 
The  money  does  not  belong  to  me  at  all — Mrs.  Lavender  never 

intended  it  should.     It  was  meant  to  go  to  Sheila " 

"  Oh,  I  know,  I  know,"  said  Mr.  Mackenzie,  with  a  wave 
of  his  hand.  "  I  wass  hearing  all  that  from  the  woman  at 
the  house.  But  how  will  you  know  what  Mrs.  Lavender 
intended  ?  You  hef  only  that  woman's  story  of  it.  And 

here  is  the  will,  and  you  hef  the  money,  and — and " 

Mackenzie  hesitated  for  a  moment ;  and  then  said  with  a 
sudden  vehemence — 

"  • and,  by  Kott,  you  shall  keep  it  1 " 

Ingram  was  a  trifle  startled. 

"  But  look  here,  sir,"  he  said  in  a  tone  of  expostulation, 
"you  make  a  mistake.  I  myself  knew  Mrs.  Lavender's 
intentions.  I  don't  go  by  any  story  of  Mrs.  Paterson's. 
Mrs.  Lavender  made  over  the  money  to  me  with  express 
injunctions  to  place  it  at  the  disposal  of  Sheila  whenever  I 
should  see  fit.  Oh,  there's  no  misunderstanding  about  it,  so 
you  need  not  protest,  sir.  If  the  money  belonged  to  me,  I 
should  be  delighted  to  keep  it.  No  man  in  the  country 
more  desires  to  be  rich  than  I  ;  so  don't  fancy  I  am  flinging 
away  a  fortune  out  of  generosity.  If  any  rich  and  kind- 
hearted  old  lady  will  send  me  £5,000  or  £10,000,  you  will 
see  how  I  should  stick  to  it.  But  the  simple  truth  is,  this 
money  is  not  mine  at  all.  It  was  never  intended  to  be 
mine.  It  belongs  to  Sheila." 

Ingram  talked  in  a  very  matter-of-fact  way  ;  the  old  man 
feared  what  he  said  was  true. 

"  Ay,  it  is  a  ferry  good  story,"  said  Mackenzie,  cautiously, 
y  and  may  be  it  is  all  true.  And  you  wass  saying  you 
would  like  to  hef  money  ?  " 

"  I  most  decidedly  should  like  to  have  money." 
"Well,  then,"  said  the  old  man,  watching  his  friend's 
face,  "  there  iss  no  one  to  say  that  the  story  is  true  ;  and 
who  will  believe  it  ?  And  if  Sheila  wass  to  come  to  you 
and  say  she  did  not  believe  it,  and  she  would  not  hef  the 
money  from  yon,  you  would  hef  to  keep  it,  eh  ?  " 


"  LIKE  HADRIAN  US  AND  A  UGUS  TVS  "       389 

Ingram's  sallow  face  blushed  crimson. 
"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,"  he  said,  stiffly.     "  Do 
you  propose  to  pervert  the  girl's  mind,  and  make  me  a  party 
to  a  fraud  ?  " 

"Oh,  there  is  no  use  getting  into  an  anger,"  said 
Mackenzie,  suavely,  "when  common  sense  will  do  as  well. 
And  there  wass  no  perversion,  and  there  wass  no  fraud 
talked  about.  It  wass  just  this,  Mr.  Ingram,  that  if  the  old 
lady's  will  leaves  you  her  property,  who  will  you  be  getting 
to  believe  that  she  did  not  mean  to  give  it  to  you  ?  " 

"I  tell  you  now  whom  she  meant  to  give  it  to,"  said 
Ingram,  still  somewhat  hotly. 

"  Oh  yes,  oh  yes,  that  is  ferry  well.  But  who  will  believe 
it?" 

"  Good  heavens,  sir,  who  will  believe  I  could  be  such  a 
fool  as  to  fling  away  this  property  if  it  belonged  to  me  ?  " 

"  They  will  think  you  a  fool  to  do  it  now — yes,  that  is 
sure  enough,"  said  Mackenzie. 

"  I  don't  care  what  they  think.  And  it  seems  rather  odd, 
Mr.  Mackenzie,  that  you  should  be  trying  to  deprive  your 
own  daughter  of  what  belongs  to  her  ?  " 

"  Oh,  my  daughter  is  ferry  well  off  whatever — she  does 
not  want  any  one's  money,"  said  Mackenzie  ;  and  then  a 
new  idea  struck  him.  "  Will  you  tell  me  this,  Mr.  Ingram  ? 
If  Mrs.  Lavender  left  you  her  property  in  this  way,  what 
for  did  she  want  to  change  her  will,  eh  ?  " 

"  "Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  refused  to  take  the  respon- 
sibility. She  was  anxious  to  have  this  money  given  to 
Sheila  so  that  Lavender  should  not  touch  it — and  I  don't 
think  it  was  a  wise  intention,  for  there  is  not  a  prouder 
man  in  the  world  than  Lavender,  and  I  know  that  Sheila 
would  not  consent  to  hold  a  penny  that  did  not  equally 
belong  to  him.  However,  that  was  her  notion  ;  and  I  was 
the  first  victim  of  it.  I  protested  against  it ;  and  I  suppose 
that  set  her  to  inquiring  whether  the  money  could  not  be 
absolutely  bequeathed  to  Sheila  direct.  I  don't  know 
anything  about  it  myself  ;  but  that's  how  the  matter  stands 
as  far  as  I'm  concerned." 

"  But  you  will  think  it  over,  Mr.  Ingram,"  said  Mackenzie 
quietly  ;  "  you  will  think  it  over  and  be  in  no  hurry.  It  is 
not  every  man  that  hass  a  lot  of  money  given  to  him,  And 


390  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

it  is  no  wrong  to  my  Sheila  at  all ;  for  she  will  lief  quite 
plenty ;  and  she  would  be  ferry  sorry  to  take  the  money 
away  from  you,  that  is  sure  enough.  And  you  will  not  be 
hasty,  Mr.  Ingram  ;  but  be  cautious  and  reasonable ;  and 
you  will  see  the  money  will  do  you  far  more  good  than  it 
would  do  to  my  Sheila." 

Ingram'  began  to  think  that  a  millstone  had  been  tied 
round  his  neck. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

IN   EXILE. 

ONE  evening,  in  the  olden  time,  Lavender  and  Sheila  and 
Ingram  and  old  Mackenzie  were  all  sitting  high  up  on  the 
rocks  near  Borvabost,  chatting  to  each  other,  and  watching 
the  red  light  pale  on  the  bosom  of  the  Atlantic  as  the  sun 
sank  behind  the  edge  of  the  world.  Ingram  was  smoking  a 
wooden  pipe.  Lavender  sat  with  Sheila's  hand  in  his.  The 
old  King  of  Borva  was  discoursing  of  the  fishing  populations 
round  the  western  coasts,  and  of  their  various  ways  and 
habits. 

"  I  wish  I  could  have  seen  Tarbert,"  Lavender  was  saying, 
"  but  the  lona  just  passes  the  mouth  of  the  little  harbour  as 
she  comes  up  Loch  Fyiie.  I  know  two  or  three  men  who 
go  there  every  year  to  paint  the  fishing  life  of  the  place.  It 
is  an  odd  little  place,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"  Tarbert  ?  "  said  Mr.  Mackenzie  ;  "  you  wass  wanting  to 
know  about  Tarbert  ?  Ah,  well,  it  is  getting  to  be  a  better 
place  now,  but  a  year  or  two  ago  it  was  ferry  like  hell.  Oh, 
yes,  it  wass,  Sheila,  so  you  need  not  say  anything.  And  this 
wass  the  way  of  it,  Mr.  Lavender,  that  the  trawling  was  not 
made  legal  then ;  and  the  men  they  were  just  like  teffles, 
with  the  swearing,  and  the  drinking,  and  the  quarrelling 
going  on  ;  and  if  you  went  into  the  harbour  in  the  open 
day,  you  would  find  them  drunk,  and  fighting,  and  some  of 
them  with  blood  on  their  faces,  for  it  wass  a  ferry  wild 
time.  It  wass  many  a  one  will  say  that  the  Tarbert  men 
would  run  down  the  police-boat  some  dark  night.  And 
what  wass  the  use  of  catching  the  trawlers  now  and  again, 
and  taking  their  boats  and  their  nets  to  be  sold  at  Greenock, 


IN  EXILE  391 

when  they  would  go  themselves  over  to  Greenock  to  the 
auction,  and  buy  them  back  ?  Oh,  it  wass  a  great  deal  of 
money  they  made  then — I  hef  heard  of  a  crew  of  eight  men 
getting  £30  each  man  in  the  course  of  one  night,  and  that 
not  seldom  mirover." 

"  But  why  didn't  the  Government  put  it  down  ?  "  Lavender 
asked. 

"  Well,  you  see,"  Mackenzie  answered,  with  the  air  of  a 
man  acquainted  with  the  difficulties  of  ruling  ;  "  you  see  that 
it  wass  not  quite  sure  that  the  trawling  did  much  harm  to 
the  fishing.  And  the  Jackal — that  wass  the  Government 
steamer — she  was  not  much  good  in  getting  the  better  of  the 
Tarbert  men,  who  are  ferry  strong  with  their  boats  in  the 
rowing,  and  are  ferry  cunning  besides.  For  the  buying  boats 
they  would  go  out  to  sea  ;  and  take  the  herring  there  ;  and 
then  the  trawlers  they  would  sink  their  nets,  and  come  home 
in  the  morning  as  if  they  had  not  caught  one  fish,  although 
the  boat  would  be  white  with  the  scales  of  the  herring. 
And  what  is  more,  sir,  the  Government  knew  ferry  well  that 
if  trawling  wass  put  down  then,  there  would  be  a  ferry  good 
many  murders  ;  for  the  Tarbert  men,  when  they  came  home 
to  drink  whisky,  and  wash  the  whisky  down  with  porter, 
they  were  ready  to  fight  anybody." 

"  It  must  be  a  delightful  place  to  live  in,"  Lavender  said. 

"  Oh,  but  it  is  ferry  different  now,"  Mackenzie  continued, 
"  ferry  different.  The  men  they  are  nearly  all  Good  Tem- 
plars now,  and  there  is  no  drinking  whatever,  and  there  is 
reading-rooms  and  such  things,  and  the  place  is  ferry  quiet 
and  respectable." 

"  I  hear,"  Ingram  remarked,  "  that  good  people  attribute 
the  change  to  moral  suasion,  and  that  wicked  people  put  it 
down  to  want  of  money." 

"  Papa,  this  boy  will  have  to  be  put  to  bed,"  Sheila  inter- 
posed. 

"  Well,"  Mackenzie  answered, "  there  is  not  so  much  money 
in  the  place  as  there  wass  in  the  old  times.  The  shopkeepers 
do  not  make  so  much  money  as  before,  when  the  men  were 
wild  and  drunk  in  the  daytime,  and  had  plenty  to  spend  when 
the  police-boat  did  not  catch  them.  But  the  fishermen  they 
are  ferry  much  better  without  the  money  ;  and  I  can  say  for 
them,  Mr.  Lavender,  that  there  is  no  better  fishermen  on  the 


392  A  PRINCESS  Ofi  THULE 

coast.  They  are  ferry  fine,  tall  men  ;  and  they  are  ferry  well 
dressed  in  their  blue  clothes ;  and  they  are  manly  fellows, 
whether  they  are  drunk  or  whether  they  are  sober.  Now 
look  at  this,  sir,  that  in  the  worst  of  weather  they  will  neffer 
tek  whisky  with  them  when  they  go  out  to  the  sea  at  night, 
for  they  think  it  is  cowardly.  And  they  are  ferry  fine  fellows 
and  gentlemanly  in  their  ways,  and  they  are  ferry  good- 
natured  to  strangers." 

"  I  have  heard  that  of  them  on  all  hands,"  Lavender  said, 
"  and  some  day  I  hope  to  put  their  civility  and  good  fellow- 
ship to  the  proof." 

That  was  merely  the  idle  conversation  of  a  summer 
evening ;  no  one  paid  any  further  attention  to  it ;  nor  did 
even  Lavender  himself  think  again  of  his  vaguely-expressed 
hope  of  some  day  visiting  Tarbert.  Let  us  now  shift  the 
scene  of  this  narrative  to  Tarbert  itself. 

When  you  pass  from  the  broad  and  blue  waters  of  Loch 
Fyne  into  the  narrow  and  rocky  channel  leading  to  Tarbert 
harbour,  you  find  before  you  an  almost  circular  bay,  round 
which  stretches  an  irregular  line  of  white  houses.  There  is 
an  abundance  of  fishing-craft  about,  lying  in  careless  and 
picturesque  groups,  with  their  brown  hulls  and  spars  send- 
ing a  ruddy  reflection  down  on  the  lapping  water,  which  is 
green  under  the  shadow  of  each  boat.  Along  the  shore  stand 
the  tall  poles  on  which  the  fishermen  dry  their  nets  ;  and 
above  these,  on  the  summit  of  a  steep  crag,  rise  the  ruins  of 
an  old  castle,  with  the  daylight  shining  through  the  empty 
windows.  Beyond  the  houses,  again,  lie  successive  lines  of 
hills,  at  this  moment  lit  up  by  shafts  of  sunlight  that  lend  a 
glowing  warmth  and  richness  to  the  fine  colours  of  a  late 
autumn.  The  hills  are  red  and  brown  with  rusted  bracken 
and  heather  ;  and  here  and  there  the  smooth  waters  of  the 
bay  catch  a  tinge  of  their  varied  hues.  In  one  of  the  fishing- 
smacks  that  lie  almost  underneath  the  shadow  of  the  tall 
crag  on  which  the  castle  ruins  stand,  an  artist  has  put  up  a 
rough-and-ready  easel,  and  is  apparently  busy  at  work  paint- 
ing a  group  of  boats  just  beyond.  Some  indication  of  the 
rich  colours  of  the  craft — their  ruddy  sails,  brown  nets  and 
bladders,  and  their  varnished  but  not  painted  hulls — already 
appears  on  the  canvas  ;  and  by  and  by  some  vision  may  arise 
of  the  far  hills  in  their  soft  autumnal  tints  and  of  the  bold 


IN  EXILE  393 

bine  and  white  sky  moving  overhead.  Possibly  the  old  man 
who  is  smoking  in  the  stem  of  one  of  the  boats  has  been 
placed  there  on  purpose.  A  boy  seated  on  some  nets  occa- 
sionally casts  an  anxious  glance  towards  the  painter,  as  if  to 
inquire  when  his  penance  will  be  over. 

A  small  open  boat,  with  a  heap  of  stones  for  ballast,  and 
with  no  great  elegance  in  shape  of  rigging,  comes  slowly  in 
from  the  mouth  of  the  harbour,  and  is  gently  run  alongside 
the  smack  in  which  the  man  is  painting.  A  fresh-coloured 
young  fellow,  with  plenty  of  curly  brown  hair,  who  has 
dressed  himself  as  a  yachtsman,  calls  out — 

"Lavender,  do  you  know  the  White  Rose,  a  schooner 
yacht,  about  eighty  tons  I  should  think  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  Lavender  answers,  without  turning  round  or  taking 
his  eyes  off  the  canvas. 

"  Whose  is  she  ?  " 

"  Lord  Newstead's." 

"  Well,  either  he  or  his  skipper  hailed  me  just  now  and 
wanted  to  know  whether  you  were  here.  I  said  you  were. 
Then  he  asked  me  if  I  was  going  into  the  harbour.  I  said 
I  was.  So  he  gave  me  a  message  for  you  ;  that  they  would 
hang  about  outside  for  half  an  hour,  if  you  would  go  out  to 
them,  and  take  a  run  up  to  Ardrishaig." 

"  I  can't,  Johnny." 

"  I'd  take  you  out,  you  know." 

"  I  don't  want  to  go. 

"  But  look  here,  Lavender,"  said  the  younger  man,  seizing 
hold  of  Lavender's  boat,  and  causing  the  easel  to  shake 
dangerously  ;  "  he  asked  me  to  luncheon,  too." 

"  Why  don't  you  go,  then  ?  "  was  the  only  reply,  uttered 
rather  absently. 

"  I  can't  go  without  you." 

"  Well,  I  don't  mean  to  go." 

The  younger  man  looked  vexed  for  a  moment,  and  then 
said,  in  a  tone  of  expostulation — 

"  You  know  it  is  very  absurd  of  you  going  on  like  this, 
Lavender.  No  fellow  can  paint  decently  if  he  gets  out  of 
bed  in  the  middle  of  the  night  and  waits  for  daylight  to  rush 
up  to  his  easel.  How  many  hours  have  you  been  at  work 
already  to-day  ?  If  you  don't  give  your  eyes  a  rest,  they 
get  colour-blind  to  a  dead  certainty.  Do  you  think  you 


394  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

will  paint  the  whole  place  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  now  that 
the  other  fellows  have  gone  ?  " 

"  I  can't  be  bothered  talking  to  you,  Johnny.  You'll 
make  me  throw  something  at  you.  Go  away." 

"  I  think  it's  rather  mean,  you  know,"  continued  the 
persistent  Johnny,  "  for  a  fellow  like  you,  who  doesn't  need 
it,  to  come  and  fill  the  market  all  at  once,  while  we  unfortu- 
nate devils  can  scarcely  get  a  crust.  And  there  are  two 
heron  just  round  the  point,  and  I  have  my  breechloader  and 
a  dozen  cartridges  here." 

"  Go  away,  Johnny," — that  was  all  the  answer  he  got. 

"  I'll  go  out  and  tell  Lord  Newstead  that  you  are  a  can- 
tankerous brute.  I  suppose  he'll  have  the  decency  to  offer 
me  luncheon  ;  and  I  dare  say  I  could  get  him  a  shot  at  those 
heron.  You  are  a  fool  not  to  come,  Lavender  ; "  and,  so 
saying,  the  young  man  put  off  again,  and  he  was  heard  to  go 
away  talking  to  himself  about  obstinate  idiots,  and  greed, 
and  the  certainty  of  getting  a  shot  at  the  heron. 

When  he  had  quite  gone,  Lavender,  who  had  scarcely  raised 
his  eyes  from  his  work,  suddenly  laid  down  his  palette  and 
brushes — he  almost  dropped  thsm,  indeed — and  quickly  put 
up  both  his  hands  to  his  head,  pressing  them  on  the  side  of 
his  temples.  The  old  fisherman  in  the  boat  beyond  noticed 
this  strange  movement,  and  forthwith  caught  a  rope,  hauled 
the  boat  across  a  stretch  of  water,  and  then  came  scrambling 
over  bowsprit,  lowered  sails,  and  nets,  to  where  Lavender 
had  just  sat  down. 

"  Wass  there  anything  the  matter,  sir  ?  "  he  said,  with 
much  evidence  of  concern. 

"  My  head  is  a  little  bad,  Donald,"  Lavender  answered, 
still  pressing  his  hands  on  his  temples,  as  if  to  get  rid  of 
some  strange  feeling  ;  "  I  wish  you  would  puh1  into  the  shore 
and  get  me  some  whisky." 

"  Oh  ay,"  said  the  old  man,  hastily  scrambling  into  the 
little  black  boat  lying  beside  the  smack  ;  "  and  it  is  no  wonder 
to  me  this  will  come  to  you,  sir,  for  I  hef  never  seen  any  of 
the  chentlemen  so  long  at  the  pentin  as  you — from  the  morn- 
ing till  the  night — and  it  is  no  wonder  to  me  this  will  come 
to  you.  But  I  will  get  you  the  whushkey — it  is  a  grand  thing, 
the  whushkey." 

The  old  fisherman  was  not  long  in  getting  ashore,  and 


IN  EXILE  395 

running  up  to  the  cottage  in  which  Lavender  lived,  and 
getting  a  bottle  of  whisky  and  a  glass.  Then  he  got  down 
to  the  quay  again,  and  was  surprised  that  he  could  nowhere 
see  Mr.  Lavender  on  board  the  smack.  Perhaps  he  had  laid 
down  on  the  nets  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 

When  Donald  got  out  to  the  smack,  he  found  the  young 
man  lying  insensible,  his  face  white,  and  his  teeth  clenched. 
With  something  of  a  cry,  the  old  fisherman  jumped  into  the 
boat,  knelt  down,  and  proceeded  in  a  rough-and-ready  fashion 
to  force  some  whisky  into  Lavender's  mouth. 

"  Oh  ay,  oh  yes,  it  is  a  grand  thing,  the  whushkey,"  he 
muttered  to  himself  ;  "  oh  yes,  sir,  you  must  hef  some  more 
— it  is  no  matter  if  you  will  choke — it  is  very  goot  whushkey, 
and  will  do  you  no  harm  whatever — and,  oh  yes,  sir,  that  is 
ferry  well,  and  you  are  all  right  again,  and  you  will  sit  quite 
quiet  now,  and  you  will  hef  a  little  more  whushkey." 

The  young  man  looked  round  him. 

"  Have  you  been  ashore,  Donald  ?  Oh,  yes  ;  I  suppose 
so.  Did  I  fall  down  ?  Well,  I  am  all  right  now ;  it  was 
the  glare  of  the  sea  that  made  me  giddy.  Take  a  dram  for 
yourself,  Donald  ?  " 

"  There  is  only  the  one  glass,  sir,"  said  Donald,  who  had 
picked  up  something  of  the  notions  of  gentlefolks  ;  "  but  I 
will  just  tek  the  bottle  ; "  and  so,  to  avoid  drinking  out  of 
the  same  glass  (which  was  rather  a  small  one),  he  was  good 
enough  to  take  a  pull,  and  a  strong  pull,  at  the  whisky. 
Then  he  heaved  a  sigh,  and  wiped  the  top  of  the  bottle  with 
his  sleeve. 

"Yes,  as  I  was  saying,  sir,  there  wass  none  of  the 
chentlernen  I  hef  effer  seen  in  Tarbert  will  keep  at  the 
pentin  so  long  ass  you  ;  and  many  of  them  will  be  stronger 
ass  you,  and  will  be  more  accustomed  to  it  whatever.  But 
when  a  man  iss  making  money — "  and  Donald  shook  his 
head  ;  he  knew  it  was  useless  to  argue. 

"  But  I  am  not  making  money,  Donald,"  Lavender  said, 
still  looking  a  trifle  pale.  "  I  doubt  whether  I  have  made 
as  much  as  you  have  since  I  came  to  Tarbert." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Donald,  contentedly,  "  all  the  chentle- 
men  will  say  that.  They  never  hef  any  money.  But  wass 
you  ever  with  them  when  they  could  not  get  a  dram  because 
they  had  no  money  to  pay  for  it  ?  " 


396  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Donald's  test  of  impecuniosity  could  not  be  gainsaid. 
Lavender  laughed,  and  bade  him  get  back  into  the  other 
boat. 

"  Deed  I  will  not — not  yet,"  said  Donald,  sturdily. 

Lavender  stared  at  him. 

"  Oh  no  ;  you  wass  doing  quite  enough  the  day  already, 
or  you  would  not  hef  tumbled  down  like  that.  And  sup- 
posing that  you  wass  to  hef  tumbled  into  the  water,  you 
would  hef  been  trooned  as  sure  as  you  wass  alive." 

"  And  a  good  job  too,  Donald,"  said  the  younger  man, 
idly  looking  at  the  lapping  green  water. 

Donald  shook  his  head  gravely. 

"  You  would  not  say  that  if  you  had  friends  of  yours  that 
wass  trooned,  and  if  you  had  seen  them  when  they  Avent 
down  in  the  water." 

"  They  say  it  is  an  easy  death,  Donald." 

"  They  neffer  tried  it  that  said  that,"  answered  the  old 
fisherman,  gloomily.  "  It  wass  one  day  the  son  of  my  sister 
wass  coming  over  from  Saltcoats — but  I  hef  no  wish  to 
speak  of  it ;  and  that  wass  but  one  among  ferry  many  that 
I  have  known." 

"  How  long  is  it  since  you  were  in  the  Lewis,  did  you 
say  ? "  Lavender  asked,  changing  the  subject.  Donald 
was  accustomed  to  have  the  talk  suddenly  diverted  into 
this  channel.  He  could  not  tell  why  the  young  English 
stranger  wanted  him  continually  to  be  talking  about  the 
Lewis. 

"  Oh,  it  is  many  and  many  a  year  ago,  as  I  hef  said  ;  and 
you  will  know  far  more  about  the  Lewis  than  I  will.  But 
Stornoway,  that  is  a  fine  big  town ;  and  I  hef  a  cousin 
there  that  keeps  a  shop,  and  is  a  ferry  rich  man,  and  many's 
the  time  he  will  ask  me  to  come  and  see  him.  And  if  the 
Lord  be  spared,  maybe  I  will  some  day." 

"  You  mean  if  you  be  spared,  Donald." 

"  Oh  ay  ;  it  is  all  wan,"  said  Donald. 

Lavender  had  brought  with  him  some  bread  and  cheese 
in  a  piece  of  paper,  for  luncheon  ;  and  this  store  of  frugal 
provisions  having  been  opened  out,  the  old  fisherman  was 
invited  to  join  in  ;  an  invitation  he  gravely,  but  not  eagerly, 
accepted.  He  removed  his  blue  bonnet  and  said  grace ; 
then  he  took  the  bread  and  cheesQ  in  his  hand,  and  looked 


IN  EXILE  397 

round  inquiringly.  There  was  a  stone  jar  of  water  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat ;  that  was  not  what  Donald  was  looking 
after.  Lavender  handed  him  the  black  bottle  he  had 
brought  out  from  the  cottage,  which  was  more  to  his  mind. 
And  then,  this  humble  meal  despatched,  the  old  man  was 
persuaded  to  go  back  to  his  post,  and  Lavender  continued 
his  work. 

The  short  afternoon  was  drawing  to  a  close  when  young 
Johnny  Eyre  came  sailing  in  from  Loch  Fyne,  himself  and 
a  boy  of  ten  or  twelve  managing  that  crank  little  boat  with 
its  top-heavy  sails. 

"  Are  you  at  work  yet,  Lavender  ?  "  he  said.  "  I  never 
saw  such  a  beggar.  It's  getting  quite  dark." 

"  What  sort  of  luncheon  did  Newstead  give  you, 
Johnny  ?  " 

"  Oh,  something  worth  going  for,  I  can  tell  you.  You 
want  to  live  in  Tarbert  for  a  month  or  two  to  find  out  the 
value  of  decent  cooking  and  good  wine.  He  was  awfully 
surprised  when  I  described  this  place  to  him.  He  wouldn't 
believe  you  were  living  here  in  a  cottage — I  said  a  garret, 
for  I  pitched  it  hot  and  strong,  mind  you.  I  said  you  were 
living  in  a  garret,  that  you  never  saw  a  razor,  and  lived  on 
oatmeal  porridge  and  whisky,  and  that  your  only  amuse- 
ment was  going  out  at  night  and  risking  your  neck  in  this 
delightful  boat  of  mine.  You  should  have  seen  him  ex- 
amining this  remarkable  vessel.  And  there  were  two  ladies 
on  board,  and  they  were  asking  after  you,  too." 
"  Who  were  they  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  I  didn't  catch  then-  names  when  I  was 
introduced  ;  but  the  noble  skipper  called  one  of  them 
Polly." 

"  Oh,  I  know." 

"  Ain't  you  coming  ashore,  Lavender  ?  You  can't  see  to 
work  now." 

"  All  right.  I  shall  put  my  traps  ashore  ;  and  then  I'll 
have  a  run  with  you  down  Loch  Fyne,  if  you  like,  Johnny." 
"  Well,  I  don't  like,"  said  the  handsome  lad,  frankly  j 
"for  it's  looking  rather  squally  about.  It  seems  to  me 
you're  bent  on  drowning  yourself.  Before  those  other 
fellows  went,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  you  had 
committed  a  murder." 


398  A  PRTNCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Did  they  really  ?  "  Lavender  said,  with  little  interest. 

"  And  if  you  go  away  and  live  in  that  wild  place  you  were 
talking  of  during  the  winter,  they  will  be  quite  sure  of  it. 
Why,  man,  you'd  come  back  with  your  hair  turned  Avhite. 
You  might  as  well  think  of  living  by  yourself  at  the  Arctic 
Pole." 

Neither  Johnny  Eyre  nor  any  of  the  men  who  had  just 
left  Tarbert  knew  anything  of  Frank  Lavender's  recent 
history  ;  and  Lavender  himself  was  not  disposed  to  be 
communicative.  They  would  know  soon  enough  when  they 
went  up  to  London.  In  the  meantime  they  were  surprised 
to  find  that  Lavender's  habits  were  very  singularly  altered. 
He  had  grown  miserly.  They  laughed  when  he  told  them 
he  had  no  money  ;  and  he  did  not  seek  to  persuade  them  of 
the  fact ;  but  it  was  clear,  at  all  events,  that  none  of  them 
lived  so  frugally,  or  worked  so  anxiously,  as  he.  Then, 
when  his  work  was  done  in  the  evening,  and  when  they 
met  alternately  at  each  other's  rooms,  to  dine  off  mutton 
and  potatoes,  with  a  glass  of  whisky,  and  a  pipe,  and  a 
game  of  cards  to  follow,  what  was  the  meaning  of  those 
sudden  fits  of  silence  that  would  strike  in  when  the  general 
hilarity  was  at  its  pitch  ?  And  what  was  the  meaning  of 
the  utter  recklessness  he  displayed  when  they  would  go  out 
of  an  evening  in  their  open  sailing-boats  to  shoot  sea-fowl, 
or  make  a  voyage  along  the  rocky  coast  in  the  dead  of  night, 
to  wait  for  the  dawn  to  show  them  the  haunts  of  the  seals  ? 
The  Lavender  they  had  met  occasionally  in  London  was  a 
fastidious,  dilettante,  self-possessed,  and  yet  not  disagreeable 
young  fellow ;  this  man  was  almost  pathetically  anxious 
about  his  work  ;  oftentimes  he  was  morose  and  silent ;  and 
then  again  there  was  no  sort  of  danger  or  difficulty  he  was 
not  ready  to  plunge  into  when  they  were  sailing  about  that 
iron-bound  coast.  They  could  not  make  it  out ;  but  the 
joke  among  themselves  was  that  he  had  committed  a  murder, 
and  had  grown  reckless. 

This  Johnny  Eyre  was  not  much  of  an  artist ;  but  he 
liked  the  society  of  artists  ;  he  had  a  little  money  of  his 
own,  plenty  of  time,  and  a  love  of  boating  and  shooting  ; 
and  so  he  had  pitched  his  tent  at  Tarbert,  and  was  proud 
to  cherish  the  delusion  that  he  was  working  hard  and 
earning  fame  and  wealth.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  never 


TN  EXILE  399 

earned  anything  ;  but  he  had  very  good  spirits,  and  living 
in  Tarbert  is  cheap. 

From  the  moment  that  Lavender  had  come  to  the  place, 
Johnny  Eyre  made  him  his  special  companion.  He  had  a 
great  respect  for  a  man  who  could  shoot  anything  any- 
where ;  and  when  he  and  Lavender  came  back  together 
from  an  excursion,  there  was  no  use  saying  which  had 
actually  done  the  brilliant  deeds  the  evidence  of  which  was 
carried  ashore.  But  Lavender,  oddly  enough,  knew  little 
about  sailing  ;  and  Johnny  was  pleased  to  assume  the  airs 
of  an  instructor  on  this  point ;  his  only  difficulty  being  that 
his  pupil  had  more  than  the  ordinary  hardihood  of  an 
ignoramus,  and  was  inclined  to  do  reckless  things  even  after 
he  had  sufficient  skill  to  know  that  they  were  dangerous. 

Lavender  got  into  the  small  boat,  taking  his  canvas  with 
him,  but  leaving  his  easel  in  the  fishing-smack.  He  pulled 
himself  and  Johnny  Eyre  ashore  ;  they  scrambled  up  the 
rocks  and  into  the  road ;  and  they  went  into  the  small 
white  cottage  in  which  Lavender  lived.  The  picture  was, 
for  great  safety,  left  in  Lavender's  bedroom,  which  already 
contained  about  a  dozen  canvases  with  sketches  in  various 
stages  on  them.  Then  he  went  out  to  his  friend  again. 

"  I've  had  a  long  day  to-day,  Johnny.  I  wish  you'd  go 
out  with  me  ;  the  excitement  af  a  squall  would  clear  one's 
brain,  I  fancy." 

"  Oh,  I'll  go  out  if  you  like,"  Eyre  said ;  "  but  I  shall 
take  very  good  care  to  run  in  before  the  squall  comes,  if 
there's  any  about.  I  don't  think  there  will  be,  after  all.  I 
fancied  I  saw  a  flash  of  lightning  about  half  an  hour  ago, 
down  in  the  south  ;  but  nothing  has  come  of  it.  There 
are  some  curlew  ;  and  the  guillemots  are  in  thousands.  You 
don't  seem  to  care  about  shooting  guillemots,  Lavender." 

"  Well,  you  see,  potting  a  bird  that  is  sitting  on  the  water 
"  said  Lavender,  with  a  shrug. 

"  Oh,  it  isn't  as  easy  as  you  might  imagine.  Of  course, 
you  could  kill  them  if  you  liked,  but  everybody  ain't  such  a 
swell  as  you  are  with  a  gun  ;  and,  mind  you,  it's  uncommonly 
awkward  to  catch  the  right  moment  for  firing  when  the  bird 
goes  bobbing  up  and  down  on  the  waves,  disappearing 
altogether  every  second.  I  think  it's  very  good  fun  myself. 
It  is  very  exciting  when  you  don't  know  the  moment  the  bird 


400  A  PRINCESS  OF  THUL£ 

will  dive,  and  whether  you  can  afford  to  go  any  nearer. 
And  as  for  shooting  them  on  the  water,  you  have  to  do 
that ;  for  when  do  you  get  a  chance  of  shooting  them 
flying?" 

"  I  don't  see  much  necessity  for  shooting  them  at  any 
time,"  said  Lavender,  as  he  went  down  to  the  shore  again, 
"  but  I  am  glad  to  see  you  get  some  amusement  out  of  it. 
Have  you  got  cartridges  with  you  ?  Is  your  gun  in  the 
boat  ?  " 

"  Yes.     Come  along.    We'll  have  a  run  out  anyhow." 

When  they  pulled  out  again  to  that  cockle-shell  craft  with 
its  stone  ballast  and  big  brown  mainsail,  the  boy  was  sent 
ashore,  and  the  two  companions  set  forth  by  themselves. 
By  this  time  the  sun  had  gone  down,  and  a  curious  green 
twilight  was  shining  over  the  sea.  As  they  got  further  out, 
the  dusky  shores  seemed  to  have  a  pale  mist  hanging  around 
them  ;  but  there  were  no  clouds  on  the  hills,  for  a  clear  sky 
shone  overhead,  awaiting  the  coming  of  the  stars.  Strange, 
indeed,  was  the  silence  out  here,  broken  only  by  the  lapping 
of  the  water  on  the  sides  of  the  boat,  and  the  calling  of  birds 
in  the  distance.  Far  away  the  orange  ray  of  a  lighthouse 
began  to  quiver  in  the  lambent  dusk.  The  pale  green  light 
on  the  waves  did  not  die  out ;  but  the  shadows  grew  darker, 
so  that  Eyre,  with  his  gun  close  at  hand,  could  not  distin- 
guish his  groups  of  guillemots,  although  he  heard  them 
calling  all  around.  They  had  arrived  too  late,  indeed,  for 
any  such  purpose. 

Thither,  on  those  beautiful  evenings,  after  his  day's  work 
was  done,  Lavender  was  accustomed  to  come,  either  by 
himself  or  with  his  present  companion.  Johnny  Eyre  did 
not  intrude  on  his  solitude  ;  he  was  invariably  too  eager  to 
get  a  shot ;  his  chief  delight  being  to  stand  at  the  bo\v, 
letting  the  boat  drift  for  a  while  silently  through  the  waves, 
so  that  she  might  come  unawares  on  some  flock  of  sea-birds. 
Lavender,  sitting  in  the  stern,  with  the  tiller  in  his  hand, 
was  really  alone  in  this  world  of  water  and  sky,  with  all  the 
majesty  of  the  night  and  the  stars  around  him. 

And  on  these  occasions  he  used  to  sit  down  and  dream  of 
the  beautiful  time  long  ago  in  Loch  Roag,  when  nights  such 
as  these  used  to  come  over  the  Atlantic,  and  find  Sheila  and 
himself  sailing  on  the  peaceful  waters,  or  seated  high  up  on 


IN  EXILE  401 

the  rocks  listening  to  the  murmur  of  the  tide.  Here  was 
the  same  strange  silence,  the  same  solemn  and  pale  light  in 
the  sky,  the  same  mystery  of  the  moving  plain  all  around 
them  that  seemed  somehow  to  be  alive  and  yet  voiceless  and 
sad.  Many  a  time  his  heart  became  so  full  of  recollections 
that  he  had  almost  called  aloud  "  Sheila  !  Sheila  !  "  and 
waited  -for  the  sea  and  the  sky  to  answer  him.  In  these 
bygone  days  he  had  pleased  himself  with  the  fancy  that  the 
girl  was  somehow  the  product  of  all  the  beautiful  aspects  of 
nature  around  her.  It  was  the  sea  that  was  in  her  eyes  ;  it 
was  the  fair  sunlight  that  shone  in  her  face  ;  the  breath  of  her 
life  was  the  breath  of  the  moorland  winds.  He  had  written 
verses  about  this  fancy  of  his  ;  and  he  had  conveyed  them 
secretly  to  her,  sure  that  she,  at  least,  would  find  no  defects 
in  them.  And  many  a  time,  far  away  from  Loch  Roag, 
and  from  Sheila,  lines  of  this  conceit  would  wander  through 
his  brain,  set  to  the  saddest  of  all  music,  the  sighing  over 
irreparable  loss.  What  did  they  say  to  him  now  that  he 
recalled  them  like  some  half -forgot  ten  voice  out  of  the 
visionary  past  ? — 

For  she  and  the  clouds  and  the  breezes  were  one, 
And  the  hills  and  the  sea  had  conspired  with  the  sun 
To  charm  and  bewilder  all  men  with  the  grace 
They  combined  and  conferred  on  her  wonderful  face. 


The  sea  lapped  around  the  boat ;  the  green  light  on  the 
waves  grew  less  intense  ;  in  the  silence  the  first  of  the  stars 
came  out ;  and  somehow  the  time  in  which  he  had  seen 
Sheila  in  these  rare  and  magical  colours  seemed  to  become 
more  and  more  remote. 


An  angel  in  passing  looked  downward  and  smiled, 
And  carried  to  heaven  the  fame  of  the  child ; 
And  then  what  the  waves  and  the  sky  and  tho  sun 
And  the  tremulous  breath  of  the  hills  had  begun, 
Required  but  one  touch.     To  finish  the  whole, 
<Miil  loved  her,  and  gave  her  a  beautiful  soul! 

And  what  had  he  done  with  this  rare  treasure  entrusted 
to  him  ?     His  companions,  jesting  among  themselves,  had 

2  D 


402  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

said  that  he  had  committed  a  murder  ;  in  his  own  heart 
there  was  something  at  this  moment  of  a  murderer's  remorse. 

John  Eyre  uttered  a  short  cry.  Lavender  looked  ahead, 
and  saw  that  some  black  object  was  disappeariug  among  the 
waves. 

"  What  a  fright  I  got !  "  Eyre  said,  with  a  laugh.  "  I 
never  saw  the  fellow  come  near  ;  and  he  rose  just  below  the 
bowsprit.  He  came  heeling  over  as  cfuiet  as  a  mouse.  I 
say,  Lavender,  I  think  we  might  as  well  cut  it  now ;  my 
eyes  are  quite  bewildered  with  the  light  on  the  water ;  I 
couldn't  make  out  a  kraken  if  it  was  coming  across  our  bows." 

"  Don't  be  in  a  hurry,  Johnny.  We'll  take  her  out  a  bit, 
and  then  let  her  drift  back.  I  want  to  tell  you  a  story." 

"  Oh,  all  right,"  he  said  ;  and  so  they  put  her  head  round, 
and  soon  she  was  lying  over  before  the  breeze,  and  slowly 
drawing  away  from  those  outlines  of  the  coast  which  showed 
them  where  Tarbert  harbour  cut  into  the  land.  And  then, 
once  more,  they  let  her  drift,  and  young  Eyre  took  a  nip  of 
whisky  and  settled  himself  so  as  to  hear  Lavender's  story, 
whatever  it  might  be. 

"  You  knew  I  was  married  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"Didn't  you  ever  wonder  why  my  wife  did  not  come 
here  ?  " 

"  Why  should  I  wonder  ?  Plenty  of  fellows  have  to  spend 
half  the  year  apart  from  their  wives  ;  the  only  thing  in  your 
case  I  couldn't  understand  was  the  necessity  for  your  doing  it. 
For  you  know  that's  all  nonsense  about  your  want  of  funds." 

"  It  isn't  nonsense,  Johnny.  But  now,  if  you  like,  I  will 
tell  you  why  my  wife  has  never  come  here." 

Then  he  told  the  story,  out  there  under  the  stars,  with  no 
thought  of  interruption,  for  there  was  a  world  of  moving 
water  around  them.  It  was  the  first  time  he  had  let  any  one 
into  his  confidence  ;  and  perhaps  the  darkness  aided  his 
revelations  ;  but  at  any  rate  he  went  over  all  the  old  time 
until  it  seemed  to  his  companion  that  he  was  talking  to 
himself,  so  aimless  and  desultory  were  his  pathetic  reminis- 
cences. He  called  her  Sheila,  though  Eyre  had  never  heard 
her  name.  He  spoke  of  her  father  as  though  Eyre  must 
have  known  him.  And  yet  this  rambling  series  of  confessions, 
and  self-reproaches,  and  tender  memories  did  form  a  certain 


IN  EXILE  403 

sorb  of  narrative,  so  that  the  young  fellow  sitting  quietly 
in  the  boat  there  got  a  pretty  fair  notion  of  what  had 
happened. 

"  You  are  an  unlucky  fellow,"  he  said  to  Lavender.  "  I 
never  heard  anything  like  that.  But  you  know  you  must 
have  exaggerated  a  good  deal  about  it — I  should  like  to 
hear  her  story.  I  am  sure  you  could  not  have  treated  her 
like  that." 

"  God  knows  how  I  did,  but  the  truth  is  just  as  I  have 
told  you  ;  and  although  I  was  blind  enough  at  the  time,  I 
can  read  the  whole  story  now  in  letters  of  fire.  I  hope  you 
will  never  have  such  a  thing  constantly  before  your  eyes, 
Johnny." 

The  lad  was  silent  for  some  time  ;  and  then  he  said,  rather 
timidly — 

"  Do  you  think,  Lavender,  she  knows  how  sorry  you  are  ?  " 

"  If  she  did,  what  good  would  that  do  ?  "  said  the  other. 

"  Women  are  awfully  forgiving,  you  know,"  Johnny  said, 
in  a  hesitating  fashion.  "  I — I  don't  think  it  is  quite  fair 
not  to  give  her  a  chance — a  chance  of — of  being  generous, 
you  know.  You  know,  I  think  the  better  a  woman  is,  the 
more  inclined  she  is  to  be  charitable  to  other  folks  who 
mayn't  be  quite  up  to  the  mark,  you  know  ;  and  you  see,  it 
ain't  every  one  who  can  claim  to  be  always  doing  the  right 
thing ;  and  the  next  best  thing  to  that  is  to  be  sorry  for 
what  you  have  done  and  try  to  do  better.  It's  rather  cheeky, 
you  know,  my  advising  you — or  trying  to  make  you  pluck 
up  your  spirits — but  I'll  tell  you  what  it  is,  Lavender,  if  I 
knew  her  well  enough  I'd  go  straight  to  her  to-morrow,  and 
I'd  put  in  a  good  word  for  you,  and  tell  her  some  things 
she  doesn't  know,  and  you'd  see  if  she  wouldn't  write  you  a 
letter,  or  even  come  and  see  you " 

"  That  is  all  nonsense,  Johnny,  though  it's  very  good  of 
you  to  think  of  it.  The  mischief  I  have  done  isn't  to  be 
put  aside  by  the  mere  writing  of  a  letter " 

"  But  it  seems  to  me,"  the  other  said,  with  some  warmth, 
"  that  you  are  as  unfair  to  her  as  to  yourself  in  not  giving 
her  a  chance.  You  don't  know  how  willing  she  may  be  to 
overlook  everything  that  is  past " 

"  If  she  were,  I  am  not  lit  to  go  near  her.  I  couldn't 
have  the  cheek  to  try." 

2  D  2 


404  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  But  what  more  can  you  be  than  sorry  for  what  is  past  ?  " 
said  the  younger  fellow,  persistently.  "  And  you  don't  know 
how  pleased  it  makes  a  good  woman  to  give  her  a  chance  of 
forgiving  anybody.  And  if  we  were  all  to  set  up  for  being 
archangels,  and  if  there  was  to  be  no  sort  of  getting  back 
for  us  after  we  had  made  a  slip,  where  should  we  be  ?  And 
in  place  of  going  to  her,  and  making  it  all  right,  you  start 
away  for  the  Sound  of  Islay,  and,  by  Jove,  won't  you  find 
out  what  spending  a  winter  under  these  Jura  mountains 
means  ! " 

A  flash  of  lightning — somewhere  down  among  the  Arran 
hills — interrupted  the  speaker,  and  drew  the  attention  of 
the  two  young  men  to  the  fact  that  in  the  east  and  south- 
east the  stars  were  no  longer  visible,  while  something  of  a 
brisk  breeze  had  sprung  up. 

"  This  breeze  will  take  us  back  splendidly,"  Johnny  said, 
getting  ready  again  for  the  run  in  to  Tarbert. 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  when  Lavender  called  attention 
to  a  fishing-smack  that  was  apparently  making  for  the 
harbour.  With  all  sails  set,  she  was  sweeping  by  them  like 
some  black  phantom  across  the  dark  plain  of  the  sea.  They 
could  not  make  out  the  figures  on  board  of  her  ;  but  as  she 
passed,  some  one  called  out  to  them. 

"  What  did  he  say  ?  "  Lavender  asked. 

"  I  don't  know,"  his  companion  said,  "  but  it  was  some  sort 
of  warning,  I  suppose.  By  Jove,  Lavender  !  what  is  that  ?  " 

Behind  them  there  was  a  strange  hissing  and  rumbling 
noise  that  the  wind  brought  along  to  them,  but  nothing 
could  be  seen. 

"  Eain,  isn't  it  ?  "  Lavender  said. 

"There  never  was  rain  like  that,"  his  companion  said. 
"  That  is  a  squall,  and  it  will  be  here  presently.  We  must 
haul  down  the  sails — for  God's  sake,  look  sharp,  Lavender  !  " 

There  was  certainly  no  time  to  lose,  for  the  noise  behind 
them  was  increasing  and  deepening  into  a  roar  ;  and  the 
heavens  had  grown  black  overhead,  so  that  the  spars  and 
ropes  of  the  crank  little  boat  could  scarcely  be  made  out. 
They  had  just  got  the  sails  down  when  the  first  gust  of  the 
squall  struck  the  boat  as  with  a  blow  of  iron,  and  sent  her 
staggering  forward  into  the  trough  of  the  sea.  Then  all 
around  them  came  the  fury  of  the  storm  ;  and  the  cause  of 


tN  EXILE  405 

the  sound  they  had  heard  was  apparent  in  the  foaming 
water  that  was  torn  and  scattered  abroad  by  the  gale.  Up 
from  the  black  south-east  came  the  fierce  hurricane, 
sweeping  everything  before  it,  and  hurling  this  creaking  and 
straining  boat  about  as  if  it  were  a  cork.  They  could  see 
little  of  the  sea  around  them,  but  they  could  hear  the  awful 
noise  of  it ;  and  they  knew  they  were  being  swept  along  on 
those  hurrying  waves,  towards  a  coast  which  was  invisible  in 
the  blackness  of  the  night. 

"  Johnny,  we'll  never  make  the  harbour.  I  can't  see  a 
light,"  Lavender  cried.  "  Hadn't  we  better  try  to  keep  her 
up  the  loch  ?  " 

"  We  must  make  the  harbour,"  his  companion  said  ;  "  she 
can't  stand  this  much  longer." 

Blinding  torrents  of  rain  were  now  being  driven  down  by 
the  force  of  the  wind,  so  that  all  around  them  nothing  was 
visible  but  a  wild  boiling  and  seething  of  clouds  and  waves. 
Eyre  was  up  at  the  bow,  trying  to  catch  some  glimpse  of 
the  outlines  of  the  coast,  or  to  make  out  some  light  that 
would  show  them  where  the  entrance  to  Tarbert  harbour 
lay.  If  only  some  lurid  shaft  of  lightning  would  pierce  the 
gloom  ! — for  they  knew  that  they  were  being  driven  head- 
long on  an  iron-bound  coast  ;  and  amid  all  the  noise  of  the 
wind  and  the  sea  they  listened  with  a  fear  that  had  no 
words  for  the  first  roar  of  the  waves  along  the  rocks. 

Suddenly  Lavender  heard  a  shrill  scream — almost  like 
the  cry  that  a  hare  gives  when  it  finds  the  dog's  fangs  in  its 
neck ;  and  at  the  same  moment,  amid  all  the  darkness  of 
the  night,  a  still  blacker  object  seemed  to  start  out  of  the 
gloom,  right  ahead  of  them.  The  boy  had  no  time  to  shout 
any  warning  beyond  that  cry  of  despair ;  for  with  a  wild 
crash  the  boat  struck  on  the  rocks,  rose  and  struck  again, 
and  was  then  dashed  over  by  a  heavy  sea,  both  of  its 
occupants  being  thrown  into  the  fierce  swirls  of  foam  that 
were  dashing  in  and  through  the  narrow  channels. 
Strangely  enough  they  were  thrown  together  ;  and  Lavender, 
clinging  to  the  seaweed,  instinctively  laid  hold  of  his 
companion  just  as  the  latter  appeared  to  be  slipping  into 
the  gulf  beneath. 

"  Johnny,"  he  cried,  "  hold  on  !  hold  on  to  me,  or  we 
shall  both  go  in  a  minute." 


406  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

But  the  lad  had  no  life  left  in  him,  and  lay  like  a  log 
there,  while  each  wave  that  struck  and  rolled  hissing  and 
gurgling  through  the  channels  between  the  rocks,  seemed  to 
drag  at  him  and  seek  to  suck  him  down  into  the  darkness. 
With  one  despairing  effort,  Lavender  struggled  to  get  him 
further  up  on  the  slippery  seaweed,  and  succeeded.  But  his 
success  had  lost  him  his  own  vantage-ground  ;  and  he  knew 
that  he  was  going  down  into  the  swirling  waters  beneath, 
close  by  the  broken  boat  that  was  still  being  dashed  about 
by  the  waves. 

CHAPTEE  XXIY. 

"HAME  FAIN  WOULD  i  BE." 

UNEXPECTED  circumstances  had  detained  Mrs.  Kavanagh  and 
her  daughter  in  London  long  after  everybody  else  had  left ; 
but  at  length  they  Avere  ready  to  start  for  their  projected 
trip  into  Switzerland.  On  the  day  before  their  departure 
Ingram  dined  with  them — on  his  own  invitation.  He  had 
got  into  a  habit  of  letting  them  know  when  it  would  suit  him 
to  devote  an  evening  to  their  instruction  ;  and  it  was  difficult, 
indeed,  to  say  which  of  the  two  ladies  submitted  the  more 
readily  and  meekly  to  the  dictatorial  enunciation  of  his 
opinions.  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  it  is  true,  sometimes  dissented  in 
so  far  as  a  smile  indicated  dissent ;  but  her  daughter  scarcely 
reserved  to  herself  so  much  liberty.  Mr.  Ingram  had  taken 
her  in  hand  ;  and  expected  of  her  the  obedience  and  respect 
due  to  his  superior  age. 

And  yet,  somehow  or  other,  he  occasionally  found  himself 
indirectly  soliciting  the  advice  of  this  gentle,  clear-eyed,  and 
clear-headed  young  person,  more  especially  as  regarded  the 
difficulties  surrounding  Sheila  ;  and  sometimes  a  chance  re- 
mark of  hers,  uttered  in  a  timid,  or  careless,  or  even  mocking 
fashion,  would  astonish  him  by  the  rapid  light  it  threw  on 
these  dark  troubles.  On  this  evening — the  last  evening  they 
Avere  spending  in  London — it  was  his  own  affairs  which  he 
proposed  to  mention  to  Mrs.  Lorraine  ;  and  he  had  no  more 
hesitation  in  doing  so  than  if  she  had  been  his  oldest  friend. 
He  wanted  to  ask  her  what  he  should  do  about  the  money 
that  Mrs.  Lavender  had  left  him  ;  and  he  intended  to  be  a 


"HAME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE*  407 

good  deal  more  frank  with  Mrs.  Lorraine  than  with  any  of  the 
others  to  whom  he  had  spoken  ahout  the  matter.  For  he 
was  well  aware  that  Mrs.  Lavender  had  at  first  resolved  that 
he  should  have  at  least  a  considerable  portion  of  her  wealth  ; 
or  why  should  she  have  asked  him  how  he  would  like  to  be 
a  rich  man  ? 

"  I  do  not  think,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  quietly, "  that  there 
is  much  use  in  your  asking  me  what  you  should  do  ;  for  I 
know  what  you  will  do,  whether  it  accords  with  any  one's 
opinion  or  no.  And  yet  you  would  find  a  great  advantage  in 
having  money." 

"  Oh,  I  know  that,"  he  said  readily.  "  I  should  like  to  be 
rich  beyond  anything  that  ever  happened  in  a  drama  ;  and  I 
should  take  my  chance  of  all  the  evil  influences  that  money  is 
supposed  to  exert.  Do  you  know,  I  think  you  rich  people 
are  very  unfairly  treated " 

"  But  we  are  not  rich,"  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  passing  at  the 
time.  "  Cecilia  and  I  find  ourselves  very  poor  sometimes." 

"  But  I  quite  agree  with  Mr.  Ingram,  mamma,"  said 
Cecilia,  as  if  any  one  had  the  courage  to  disagree  with 
Mr.  Ingram  ;  "  rich  people  are  shamefully  ill-treated.  If 
you  go  to  a  theatre,  now,  you  find  that  all  the  virtues  are  on 
the  side  of  the  poor  ;  and  if  there  are  a  few  vices,  you  get 
a  thousand  excuses  for  them.  No  one  takes  account  of  the 
temptations  of  the  rich.  You  have  people  educated  from 
their  infancy  to  imagine  that  the  whole  world  was  made  for 
them — every  wish  they  have,  gratified — every  day  showing 
them  people  dependent  on  them  and  grateful  for  favours  ; 
and  no  allowance  is  made  for  such  a  temptation  to  become 
haughty,  self-willed,  and  overbearing.  But  of  course  it 
stands  to  reason  that  the  rich  never  have  justice  done  them 
in  plays  and  stories  ;  for  the  people  who  write  are  poor." 

"  Not  all  of  them." 

"  But  enough  to  strike  an  average  of  injustice.  And  it  is 
very  hard.  For  it  is  the  rich  who  buy  books  and  who  take 
boxes  at  the  theatres  ;  and  then  they  find  themselves  grossly 
abused  ;  whereas  the  humble  peasant  who  can  scarcely  read 
at  all,  and  who  never  pays  more  than  sixpence  for  a  seat  in 
the  gallery,  is  flattered,  and  coaxed,  and  caressed,  until  one 
wonders  whether  the  source  of  virtue  is  the  drinking  of  sour 
ale.  Mr.  Ingram,  you  do  it  yourself.  You  impress  mamma 


408  A  PRINCESS  OF  THVLE 

and  me  With  the  belief  that  we  are  miserable  sinners  if  we 
are  not  continually  doing  some  act  of  charity.  Well,  that 
is  all  very  pleasant  and  necessary,  in  moderation  ;  but  you 
don't  find  the  poor  folks  so  very  anxious  to  live  for  other 
people.  They  don't  care  much  what  becomes  of  us.  They 
take  your  port  wine  and  flannel  as  if  they  were  conferring  a 
favour  on  you  ;  but  as  for  your  condition  and  prospects,  in 
this  world  and  the  next,  they  don't  trouble  much  about  that. 
Now,  mamma,  just  wait  a  moment " 

"  I  will  not.  You  are  a  bad  girl,"  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh, 
severely.  "  Here  has  Mr.  Ingram  been  teaching  you  and 
making  you  better  for  ever  so  long  back  ;  and  you  pretend 
to  accept  his  counsel  and  reform  yourself  ;  and  then  all  at 
once  you  break  out,  and  throw  down  the  tablets  of  the  law, 
and  conduct  yourself  like  a  heathen." 

"  Because  I  want  him  to  explain,  mamma.  I  suppose  he 
considers  it  wicked  of  us  to  start  for  Switzerland  to-morrow. 
The  money  we  shall  spend  in  travelling  might  have  des- 
patched a  cargo  of  muskets  to  some  missionary  station,  so 
that " 

"  Cecilia  !  " 

"  Oh  no,"  Ingram  said,  carelessly,  and  nursing  his  knee 
with  both  his  hands  as  usual,  "  travelling  is  not  wicked — it 
is  only  unreasonable.  A  traveller,  you  know,  is  a  person  who 
has  a  house  in  one  town,  and  who  goes  to  live  in  a  house  in 
another  town,  in  order  to  have  the  pleasure  of  paying  for 
both." 

"  Mr.  Ingram,"  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  "  will  you  talk 
seriously  for  one  minute,  and  tell  me  whether  we  are  to 
expect  to  see  you  in  the  Tyrol  ?  " 

But  Ingram  was  not  in  a  mood  for  talking  seriously  ;  and 
he  waited  to  hear  Mrs.  Lorraine  strike  in  with  some  calmly 
audacious  invitation.  She  did  not,  however  ;  and  he  turned 
round  from  her  mother  to  question  her.  He  was  surprised 
to  find  that  her  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  ground,  and  that 
something  like  a  tinge  of  colour  was  in  her  face.  He  turned 
rapidly  away  again. 

"  Well,  Mrs.  Kavanagh,"  he  said,  with  a  fine  air  of  indiffer- 
ence, "  the  last  time  we  spoke  about  that,  I  was  not  in  the 
difficulty  I  am  in  at  present.  How  could  I  go  travelling  just 
now,  without  knowing  how  to  regulate  my  daily  expenses  ? 


"HAME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE"  409 

Am  I  to  travel  with  six  white  horses  and  silver  bells,  or  trudge 
on  foot  with  a  wallet  ?  " 

"  But  you  know  quite  well,"  said  Mrs.  Lorraine,  warmly — • 
"  you  know  you  will  not  touch  that  money  that  Mrs.  Laven- 
der has  left  you." 

"  Oh,  pardon  me,"  he  said  ;  "  I  should  rejoice  to  have  it 
if  it  did  not  properly  belong  to  some  one  else.  And  the 
difficulty  is  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  is  obviously  very  anxious 
that  neither  Mr.  Lavender  nor  Sheila  should  have  it.  If 
Sheila  gets  it,  of  course  she  will  give  it  to  her  husband.  Now, 
if  it  is  not  to  be  given  to  her,  do  you  think  I  should  regard 
the  money  with  any  particular  horror,  and  refuse  to  touch  it  ? 
That  would  be  very  romantic,  perhaps  ;  but  I  should  be 
sorry,  you  know,  to  give  my  friends  the  most  disquieting 
doubts  about  my  sanity.  Romance  goes  out  of  a  man's  head 
when  the  hair  gets  grey." 

"  Until  a  man  has  grey  hair,"  Mrs.  Lorraine  said,  still 
with  some  unnecessary  fervour,  "he  does  not  know  that 
there  are  things  much  more  valuable  than  money.  Yon 
wouldn't  touch  that  money  just  now  ;  and  all  the  thinking 
and  reasoning  in  the  world  will  never  get  you  to  touch  it." 

"  What  am  I  to  do  with  it  ?  "  he  said,  meekly. 

"  Give  it  to  Mr.  Mackenzie,  in  trust  for  his  daughter,"  Mrs. 
Lorraine  said  promptly  ;  and  then,  seeing  that  her  mother 
had  gone  to  the  end  of  the  drawing-room,  to  fetch  some- 
thing or  other,  she  added  quickly  :  "  I  should  be  more  sorry 
than  I  can  tell  you  to  find  you  accepting  this  money.  You 
do  not  wish  to  have  it.  You  do  not  need  it.  And  if 
you  did  take  it,  it  would  prove  a  source  of  continual  em- 
barrassment and  regret  to  you  ;  and  no  assurances  on  the  part 
of  Mr.  Mackenzie  would  be  able  to  convince  you  that  you 
had  acted  rightly  by  his  daughter.  Now,  if  you  simply  hand 
over  your  responsibilities  to  him,  he  cannot  refuse  them,  for 
the  sake  of  his  own  child,  and  you  are  left  with  the  sense  of 
having  acted  nobly  and  generously.  I  hope  there  are  many 
men  who  would  do  what  I  ask  you  to  do  ;  but  I  have  not  met 
many  to  whom  I  could  make  such  an  appeal  with  any  hope. 
But,  after  all,  that  is  only  advice.  I  have  no  right  to  ask 
you  to  do  anything  like  that.  You  asked  me  for  my  opinion 

about  it Well,  that  is  it.  But  I  should  not  have  asked 

you  to  act  on  it." 


4io  A  PRINCESS  OF  7'HULE 

"  But  I  will,"  he  said,  in  a  low  voice  ;  and  then  he  went 
to  the  other  end  of  the  room,  for  Mrs.  Kavanagh  was 
calling  him  to  help  her  in  finding  something  she  had  lost. 

Before  he  left,  that  evening,  Mrs.  Lorraine  said  to  him — 

"  We  go  by  the  mail  to  Paris  to-morrow  night  ;  and  we 
shall  dine  here  at  five.  Would  you  have  the  courage  to  come 
up  and  join  us  in  that  melancholy  ceremony  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  he  said,  "  if  1  may  go  down  to  the  station  to 
see  you  away  afterwards." 

"  I  think  if  we  got  you  so  far,  we  should  persuade  you  to 
go  with  us,"  Mrs.  Kavanagh  said,  with  a  smile. 

He  sat  silent  for  a  minute.  Of  course,  she  could  not 
seriously  mean  such  a  thing.  But  at  all  events  she  would 
not  be  displeased  if  he  crossed  their  path  while  they  were 
actually  abroad. 

"  It  is  getting  too  late  in  the  year  to  go  to  Scotland  now," 
he  said,  with  some  hesitation. 

"  Oh,  most  certainly,"  Mrs.  Lorraine  said. 

"  I  don't  know  where  the  man  in  whose  yacht  I  was  to 
have  gone  may  be  now.  I  might  spend  half  my  holiday  in 
trying  to  catch  him." 

"  And  during  that  time  you  would  be  alone,"  Mrs.  Lor- 
raine said. 

"  I  suppose  the  Tyrol  is  a  very  nice  place,"  he  suggested. 

"  Oh,  most  delightful !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  You  know,  we 
should  go  round  by  Switzerland,  and  go  up  by  Lucerne  and 

Zurich  to  *the  end  of  the  Lake  of  Constance Bregenz, 

mamma,  isn't  that  the  place  where  we  hired  that  good- 
natured  man  the  year  before  last  ?  " 

"  Yes,  child." 

"  Now,  you  see,  Mr.  Ingram,  if  you  had  less  time  than 
we — if  you  could  not  start  with  us  to-morrow — you  might 
come  straight  down  by  Schaffhausen  and  the  steamer,  and 
catch  us  up  there,  and  then  mamma  would  become  your 
guide.  I  am  sure  we  should  have  some  pleasant  days 
together,  till  you  got  tired  of  us,  and  then  you  could  go 
off  on  a  walking  tour  if  you  pleased.  And  then,  you  know, 
there  would  be  no  difficulty  about  our  meeting  at  Bregenz  ; 
for  mamma  and  I  have  plenty  of  time,  and  we  should  wait 
there  for  a  few  days  so  as  to  make  sure " 

"  Cecilia,"  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  "  you  must  not  persuade 


"HAME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE"  411 

Mr.  Ingram  against  his  will.  He  may  have  other  duties — 
other  friends  to  see  perhaps." 

*•  AVho  proposed  it,  mamma  ?  "  said  the  daughter,  calmly. 

"  I  did,  as  a  mere  joke.  But,  of  course,  if  Mr.  Ingram 
thinks  of  going  to  the  Tyrol,  we  should  be  most  pleased  to 
see  him  there." 

"  Oh,  I  have  no  other  friends  whom  I  am  bound  to  see," 
Ingram  said,  with  some  hesitation  ;  "  and  I  should  like  to 
go  to  the  Tyrol.  But — the  fact  is — I  am  afraid 

'•  May  I  interrupt  you  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Lorraine.  "  You  do 
not  like  to  leave  London  so  long  as  your  friend  Sheila  is  in 
trouble.  Is  not  that  the  case  ?  And  yet  she  has  her  father 
to  look  after  her.  And  it  is  clear  you  cannot  do  much  for 
her  when  you  do  not  even  know  where  Mr.  Lavender  is. 
On  the  whole,  I  think  you  should  consider  yourself  a  little  bit 
now,  and  not  get  cheated  out  of  your  holidays  for  the  year." 

"  Very  well,"  Ingram  said,  "  I  shall  be  able  to  tell  you  to- 
morrow." 

To  be  so  phlegmatic  and  matter-of-fact  a  person,  Mr. 
Ingrain  was  sorely  disturbed  on  going  home  that  evening, 
nor  did  he  sleep  much  during  the  night.  For  the  more  that 
he  speculated  on  all  the  possibilities  that  might  arise  from 
his  meeting  those  people  in  the  Tyrol,  the  more  pertinaciously 
did  this  refrain  follow  these  excursive  fancies — "  If  I  yo  to 
tlic  Tyrol,  I  shall  fall  in  love  with  that  girl  and  ask  her  to 
marry  me.  And  if  I  do  so,  what  position  should  I  Jwld  with 
reyard  to  hrr,  as  a  penniless  man  with  a  rich  wife?" 

He  did  not  look  at  the  question  in  such  a  light  as  the 
opinion  of  the  world  might  throw  on  it.  The  difficulty  Avas 
what  she  herself  might  afterwards  come  to  think  of  their 
mutual  relations.  True  it  was  that  no  one  could  be  more  gentle 
and  submissive  to  him  than  she  appeared  to  be.  In  matters 
of  opinion  and  discussion  he  already  ruled  with  an  autocratic 
authority  which  he  fully  perceived  himself,  and  exercised, 
too,  with  some  sort  of  notion  that  it  was  good  for  this  clear- 
headed young  woman  to  have  to  submit  to  control.  But  of 
what  avail  would  this  moral  authority  be  as  against  the 
consciousness  she  would  have  that  it  was  her  fortune  that  was 
supplying  both  with  the  means  of  living  ? 

He  went  down  to  his  office  in  the  morning  with  no  plans 
formed.  The  forenoon  passed ;  and  he  had  decided  on 


412  A  PRINCESS  OF  TttULE 

nothing.  At  mid-day  he  suddenly  bethought  him  that  it 
would  be  very  pleasant  if  Sheila  would  go  and  see  Mrs. 
Lorraine ;  and  forthwith  he  did  that  which  would  have 
driven  Frank  Lavender  out  of  his  senses — he  telegraphed  to 
Mrs.  Lorraine  for  permission  to  bring  Sheila  and  her  father 
to  dinner  at  five.  He  certainly  knew  that  such  a  request 
was  a  trifle  cool ;  but  he  had  discovered  that  Mrs.  Lorraine 
was  not  easily  shocked  by  such  audacious  experiments  on 
her  good-nature.  When  he  received  the  telegram  in  reply, 
he  knew  it  granted  what  he  asked.  The  words  were  merely 
"  Certainly — by  all  means — but  not  later  than  five." 

Then  he  hastened  down  to  the  house  in  which  Sheila 
lived,  and  found  that  she  and  her  father  had  just  returned 
from  visiting  some  exhibition.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  not  in 
the  room. 

"Sheila,"  Ingram  said,  "what  would  you  think  of  my 
getting  married  ?  " 

Sheila  looked  up  with  a  bright  smile  and  said — 

"  It  would  please  me  very  much — it  would  be  a  great 
pleasure  to'me  ;  and  I  have  expected  it  for  some  time." 

"  You  have  expected  it  ?  "  he  repeated,  with  a  stare. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  quietly. 

"  Then  you  fancy  you  know "  he  said,  or  rather  stam- 
mered, in  great  embarrassment,  when  she  interrupted  him  by 
saying— 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  think  I  know.  When  you  came  down  every 
evening  to*  tell  me  all  the  praises  of  Mrs.  Lorraine,  and  how 
clever  she  was,  and  kind,  I  expected  you  would  come  some 
day  with  another  message  ;  and  now  I  am  very  glad  to  hear 
it  ;  you  have  changed  all  my  opinions  about  her,  and 

Then  she  rose  and  took  both  his  hands,  and  looked  frankly 
into  his  face. 

"  — And  I  do  hope  most  sincerely  you  will  be  happy,  my 
dear  friend." 

Ingram  was  fairly  taken  aback  at  the  consequences  of  his 
own  imprudence.  He  had  never  dreamed  for  a  moment  that 
any  one  could  have  suspected  such  a  thing ;  and  he  had 
thrown  out  the  suggestion  to  Sheila  almost  as  a  jest,  believ- 
ing, of  course,  that  it  compromised  no  one.  And  here — 
before  he  had  spoken  a  word  to  Mrs.  Lorraine  on  the  subject 
— he  was  being  congratulated  on  his  approaching  marriage. 


"HAME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE  "  413 

"  Oh,  Sheila,"  he  said,  "  this  is  all  a  mistake.  It  was  a 
joke  of  mine — if  I  had  known  you  would  think  of  Mrs. 
Lorraine,  I  should  not  have  said  a  word  about  it " 

"  But  it  is  Mrs.  Lorraine  ?  "  Sheila  said. 

"  Well,  but  I  have  never  mentioned  such  a  thing  to  her — 
never  hinted  it  in  the  remotest  manner.  I  dare  say  if  I  had, 
she  might  laugh  the  matter  aside  as  too  absurd." 

"  She  will  not  do  that,"  Sheila  said  ;  "  if  you  ask  her  to 
marry  you,  she  will  marry  you.  I  am  sure  of  that  from 
what  I  have  heard,  and  she  would  be  very  foolish  if  she 
was  not  proud  and  glad  to  do  that.  And  you — what 
doubt  can  you  have,  after  all  that  you  have  been  saying 
of  late  ?  " 

"  But  you  don't  many  a  woman  merely  because  you  ad- 
mire her  cleverness  and  kindness,"  he  said ;  and  then  he 
added  suddenly,  "  Sheila,  would  you  do  me  a  great  favour  ? 
Mrs.  Lorraine  and  her  mother  are  leaving  for  the  Continent 
to-night.  They  dine  at  five ;  and  I  am  commissioned  to 
ask  you  and  your  papa  if  you  would  go  up  with  me  and  have 
some  dinner  with  them,  you  know,  before  they  start.  "Won't 
you  do  that,  Sheila  ?  " 

The  girl  shook  her  head,  without  answering.  She  had  not 
gone  to  any  friend's  house  since  her  husband  had  left 
London  ;  and  that  house  above  all  others  was  calculated  to 
awaken  in  her  bitter  recollections. 

"  "Won't  you,  Sheila  ?  "  he  said.  "  You  jised  to  go  there. 
I  know  they  like  you  very  much.  I  have  seen  you  very 
well  pleased  and  comfortable  there,  and  I  thought  you  were 
enjoying  yourself." 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,"  she  said ;  and  then  she  looked  up, 
with  a  strange  sort  of  smile  on  her  lips,  "  but '  u-hat  made  the 
assembly  shine  ? ' ' 

That  forced  smile  did  not  last  long :  the  girl  suddenly 
burst  into  tears,  and  rose,  and  went  away  to  the  window. 
Mackenzie  came  into  the  room  ;  he  did  not  see  his  daughter 
was  crying. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Ingram,  and  are  you  coming  with  us  to  Lewis  ? 
We  cannot  always  be  staying  in  London,  for  there  will  be 
many  things  wanting  the  looking  after  inBorva,  as  you  will 
know  ferry  well.  And  yet  Sheila  she  will  not  go  back  ;  and 
Mairi,  too,  she  will  be  forgetting  the  ferry  sight  of  her  own 


414  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

people  ;  but  if  you  wass  coming  with  us,  Mr.  Ingrain,  Sheila 
she  would  come  too,  and  it  would  be  ferry  good  for.  her 
whatever." 

"  I  have  brought  you  another  proposal.  Will  you  take 
Sheila  to  see  the  Tyrol,  and  I  will  go  with  you  ?  " 

"  The  Tyrol  ?  "  said  Mr.  Mackenzie.  "  Ay,  it  is  a  ferry 
long  way  away,  but  if  Sheila  will  care  to  go  to  the  Tyrol — 
oh,  yes,  I  will  go  to  the  Tyrol,  or  anywhere  if  she  will  go  out 
of  London.  For  it  is  not  good  for  a  young  girl  to  be  always 
in  the  one  house,  and  no  company,  and  no  variety  ;  and  I 
wass  saying  to  Sheila  what  good  will  she  do  sitting  by  the 
window,  and  thinking  over  things,  and  crying  sometimes — 
by  Kott,  it  is  a  foolish  thing  for  a  young  girl,  and  I  will  hef 
no  more  of  it !  " 

In  other  circumstances  Ingram  would  have  laughed  at  this 
dreadful  threat.  Despite  the  frown  on  the  old  man's  face, 
the  sudden  stamp  of  his  foot,  and  the  vehemence!of  his  words, 
Ingram  knew  that  if  Sheila  had  turned  round  and  said  that 
she  wished  to  be  shut  up  in  a  dark  room  for  the  rest  of  her 
life,  the  old  King  of  Borva  would  have  said,  "  Ferry  well, 
Sheila,"  in  the  meekest  way,  and  would  have  been  satisfied 
if  only  he  could  share  her  imprisonment  with  her. 

"  But  first  of  all,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  I  have  another  proposal 
to  make  to  you,"  Ingram  said  ;  and  then  he  urged  upon 
Sheila's  father  to  accept  Mrs.  Lorraine's  invitation.  Mr. 
Mackenzie  was  nothing  loth ;  Sheila  was  living  by  far  too 
monotonous  a  life.  He  went  over  to  the  window  to  her  and 
said — 

"  Sheila,  my  lass,  you  wass  going  nowhere  else  this  evening  ; 
and  it  would  be  feny  convenient  to  accompany  Mr.  Ingram, 
and  he  would  see  his  friends  away,  and  we  could  go  to  a 
theatre  then.  And  it  is  no  new  thing  for  you  to  go  to  fine 
houses,  and  see  other  people  ;  but  it  is  new  to  me  ;  and  you 
wass  saying  what  a  beautiful  house  it  wass  many  a  time,  and 
I  hef  wished  to  see  it.  And  the  people  they  are  ferry  kind, 
Sheila,  to  send  me  an  invitation,  and  if  they  wass  to  come 
to  the  Lewis,  what  would  you  think  if  you  asked  them  to 
come  to  your  house,  and  they  paid  no  heed  to  it  ?  Now,  it 
is  after  four,  Sheila,  and  if  you  wass  to  get  ready  now ' 

"  Yes,  I  will  go  and  get  ready,  papa,"  she  said. 

Ingram  had  a  vague  consciousness  that  he  was  taking 


"HAME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE  "  415 

Sheila  up  to  introduce  to  her  Mrs.  Lorraine  in  a  new  char- 
acter. Would  Sheila  look  at  the  woman  she  used  to  fear  and 
dislike  in  a  wholly  different  fashion,  and  be  prepared  to 
adorn  her  with  all  the  graces  which  he  had  so  often  de- 
scribed to  her  ?  Ingram  hoped  that  Sheila  would  get  to  like 
Mrs.  Lorraine ;  and  that  by  and  by  a  better  acquaintance 
between  them  might  lead  to  a  warm  and  friendly  intimacy. 
Somehow  he  felt  that  if  Sheila  would  betray  such  a  liking — 
if  she  would  come  to  him  and  say  honestly  that  she  was  re- 
joiced he  meant  to  marry — all  his  doubts  would  be  cleared 
away.  Sheila  had  already  said  pretty  nearly  as  much  as  that ; 
but  then  it  followed  what  she  understood  to  be  an  announce- 
ment of  his  approaching  marriage  ;  and,  of  course,  the  girl's 
kindly  nature  at  once  suggested  a  few  pretty  speeches. 
Sheila  now  knew  that  nothing  was  settled  ;  after  looking  at 
Mrs.  Lorraine  in  the  light  of  these  new  possibilities,  would 
she  come  to  him  and  counsel  him  to  go  on  and  challenge  a 
decision  ? 

Mr.  Mackenzie  received  with  a  grave  dignity  and :  politeness 
the  more  than  friendly  welcome  given  him  both  by  Mrs. 
Kavanagh  and  her  daughter  ;  and,  in  view  of  their  approach- 
ing tour,  he  gave  them  to  understand  that  he  had  himself 
established  somewhat  familiar  relations  with  foreign  countries 
by  reason  of  his  meeting  with  the  ships  and  sailors  hailing 
from  these  distant  shores.  He  displayed  a  profound  know- 
ledge of  the  habits  and  customs,  and  of  the  natural  products, 
of  many  remote  lands,  which  were  much  further  afield  than 
a  little  bit  of  inland  Germany.  He  represented  the  island  of 
Borva,  indeed,  as  a  sort  of  lighthouse  from  which  you  could 
survey  pretty  nearly  all  the  countries  of  the  globe  ;  and 
broadly  hinted  that,  so  far  from  insular  prejudice  being  the 
fruit  of  living  in  such  a  place,  a  general  intercourse  with 
diverse  peoples  tended  to  widen  the  understanding  and  throw 
light  on  the  various  social  experiments  that  had  been  made 
by  the  lawgivers,  the  philanthropists,  the  philosophers  of  the 
world. 

It  seemed  to  Sheila,  as  she  sat  and  listened,  that  the  pale, 
calm,  and  clear-eyed  young  lady  opposite  her  was  not  quite 
so  self-possessed  as  usual.  She  seemed  shy,  and  a  little  self- 
conscious.  Did  she  suspect  that  she  was  being  observe* I. 
Sheila  wondered ;  and  the  reason  ?  When  dinner 


4i 6  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

announced  she  took  Sheila's  arm,  and  allowed  Mr.  Ingram  to 
follow  them,  protesting,  into  the  other  room  ;  but  there  was 
much  more  of  embarrassment  and  timidity  than  of  an 
audacious  mischief  in  her  look.  She  was  very  kind  indeed 
to  Sheila  ;  but  she  had  Avholly  abandoned  that  air  of  mater- 
nal patronage  which  she  used  to  assume  towards  the  girl. 
She  seemed  to  wish  to  be  more  friendly  and  confidential  with 
her  ;  and,  indeed,  scarcely  spoke  a  word  to  Ingram  during 
dinner,  so  persistently  did  she  talk  to  Sheila,  who  sat  next 
her. 

Ingram  got  vexed. 

"  Mrs.  Lorraine,"  he  said,  "  you  seem  to  forget  that  this 
is  a  solemn  occasion.  You  ask  us  to  a  farewell  banquet ; 
but  instead  of  observing  the  proper  ceremonies,  you  pass  the 
time  in  talking  about  fancy-work,  and  music,  and  other 
ordinary  every-day  trifles." 

"  What  are  the  ceremonies  ?  "  she  said. 

"  Well,"  he  answered, "  you  need  not  occupy  the  time  with 
crochet 

"  Mrs.  Lavender  and  I  are  very  well  pleased  to  talk  about 
trifles." 

"  But  I  am  not,"  he  said,  bluntly,  "  and  I  am  not  going 
to  be  shut  out  by  a  conspiracy.  Come,  let  us  talk  about 
your  journey." 

"  Will  my  lord  give  his  commands  as  to  the  point  at  which 
we  shall  start  the  conversation  ?  " 

"  You  may  skip  the  Channel." 

"  I  wish  I  could,"  she  remarked  with  a  sigh. 

"  We  shall  land  you  in  Paris.  How  are  we  to  know  that 
you  have  arrived  safely  ?  ' 

She  looked  embarrassed  for  a  moment,  and  then  said — 

"  If  it  is  of  any  consequence  for  you  to  know,  I  shall  be 
writing  in  any  case  to  Mrs.  Lavender,  about  some  little 
private  matter." 

Ingram  did  not  receive  this  promise  with  any  great  show 
of  delight. 

"  You  see,"  he  said,  somewhat  glumly,  "if  I  am  to  meet 
you  anywhere,  I  should  like  to  know  the  various  stages  of 
your  route,  so  that  I  could  guard  against  our  missing  each 
other." 

"  You  have  decided  to  go  then  ?  " 


"  HA  ME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE  *  417 

Ingram,  not  looking  at  her,  but  looking  at  Sheila,  said 
"  Yes  ! "  and  Sheila,  despite  all  her  efforts,  could  not  help 
glancing  up  with  a  brief  smile  and  blush  of  pleasure  that 
were  quite  visible  to  everybody.  Mrs.  Lorraine  struck  in. 
with  a  sort  of  nervous  haste, — 

"  Oh,  that  will  be  very  pleasant  for  mamma  ;  for  she  gets 
rather  tired  of  me  at  times  when  we  are  travelling.  Two 
women  who  always  read  the  same  sort  of  books,  and  have 
the  same  opinions  about  the  people  they  meet,  and  have 
precisely  the  same  tastes  in  everything,  are  not  very  amusing 
companions  for  each  other.  You  want  a  little  discussion 
thrown  in " 

"  And  if  we  meet  Mr.  Ingram  we  are  sure  to  have  that," 
Mrs.  Kavanagh  said,  benignly. 

"  And  you  want  somebody  to  give  you  new  opinions,  and 
put  things  differently,  you  know.  I  am  sure  mamma  will 
be  most  kind  to  you,  if  you  can  make  it  convenient  to  spend 
a  few  days  with  us,  Mr.  Ingram." 

"  And  I  have  been  trying  to  persuade  Mr.  Mackenzie  and 
this  young  lady  to  come  also,"  said  Ingram. 

"  Oh,  that  would  be  delightful ! "  Mrs.  Lorraine  cried, 
suddenly  taking  Sheila's  hand.  "  You  will  come,  won't 
you  ?  "We  should  have  such  a  pleasant  party.  I  am  sure 
your  papa  would  be  most  interested  ;  and  we  are  not  tied  to 
any  route — we  should  go  wherever  you  pleased." 

She  would  have  gone  on  beseeching  and  advising,  but  she 
saw  something  in  Sheila's  face  which  told  her  that  all  her 
efforts  would  be  unavailing. 

"  It  is  very  kind  of  you,"  Sheila  said,  "  but  I  do  not  think 
I  can  go  to  the  Tyrol." 

"  Then  you  will  go  back  to  the  Lewis,  Sheila  ?  "  her 
father  said. 

"  I  cannot  go  back  to  the  Lewis,  papa,"  she  said  simply  ; 
and  at  this  point  Ingram,  perceiving  how  painful  the  discus- 
sion was  for  the  girl,  suddenly  called  attention  to  the  hour, 
and  asked  Mrs.  Kavanagh  if  all  her  portmanteaus  were 
strapped  up. 

They  drove  in  a  body  down  to  the  station  ;  and  Mr. 
Ingram  was  most  assiduous  in  supplying  the  two  travellers 
with  an  abundance  of  everything  they  could  not  possibly 
want.  He  got  them  a  reading-lamp,  though  both  of  them 

:?  E 


4i 8  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

declared  they  never  read  in  a  train.  He  got  them  some 
eau-de-cologne,  though  they  had  plenty  in  their  travelling- 
case.  He  purchased  for  them  an  amount  of  miscellaneous 
literature  that  would  have  been  of  benefit  to  a  hospital — 
provided  that  the  patients  were  strong  enough  to  bear  it  ; 
and  then  bade  them  good-bye  at  least  half-a-dozen  times  as 
the  train  was  slowly  moving  out  of  the  station,  and  made 
the  most  solemn  vows  about  meeting  them  at  Bregenz. 

"  Now,  Sheila,"  he  said,  "  shall  AVC  go  to  a  theatre  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  care  to  go  unless  you  Avish,"  Avas  the  answer. 

"  She  does  not  care  to  go  anywhere  now,"  her  father  said  ; 
and  then  the  girl,  seeing  that  he  was  rather  distressed  about 
her  apparent  want  of  interest,  pulled  herself  together  and 
said,  cheerfully — 

"  Is  it  not  too  late  to  go  to  a  theatre  ?  And  I  am  sure 
Ave  could  be  Arery  comfortable  at  home.  Mairi,  she  Avill 
think  it  very  unkind  if  AVC  go  to  the  theatre  by  ourselves." 

"  Mairi  ?  "  said  her  father,  impatiently,  for  he  never  lost 
an  opportunity  of  indirectly  justifying  Lavender.  "Mairi 
has  more  sense  than  you,  Sheila,  and  she  knows  that  a 
servant-lass  has  to  stay  at  home,  and  she  knows  that  she  is 
ferry  different  from  you,  and  she  is  a  ferry  good  girl 
AvhateArer,  and  hass  no  pride,  and  she  does  not  expect 
nonsense  in  going  about  and  such  things." 

"  I  am  quite  sure,  papa,  you  Avould  rather  go  home  and  sit 
down  and  have  a  talk  Avith  Mr.  Ingram,  and  a  pipe,  and  a 
little  whisky,  than  go  to  any  theatre." 

"  What  I  Avould  do  !  And  what  I  Avould  like  !  "  said  her 
father,  in  a  vexed  Avay.  "  Sheila,  you  have  no  more  sense 
as  a  lass  that  wass  still  at  the  school.  I  Avant  you  to  go  to 
the  theatre,  and  amuse  yourself,  instead  of  sitting  in  the 
house,  and  thinking,  thinking,  thinking.  And  all  for 
Avhat  ?  " 

"  But  if  one  has  something  to  be  sorry  for,  is  it  not  better 
to  think  of  it  ?  " 

"  And  what  hef  you  to  be  sorry  for  ?  "  said  her  father,  in 
amazement,  and  forgetting  that,  in  his  diplomatic  fashion, 
he  had  been  accustoming  Sheila  to  the  notion  that  she,  too, 
might  have  erred  grievously  and  been  in  part  responsible  for 
all  that  had  occurred. 

"  I  have  a  great  deal  to  be  sorry  for,  papa,"  she  said  ;  and 


"  HAME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE  »  419 

then  she  renewed  her  entreaties  that  her  two  companions 
should  abandon  their  notion  of  going  to  a  theatre  and  resolve 
to  spend  the  rest  of  the  evening  in  what  she  consented  to 
call  her  home. 

After  all  they  formed  a  comfortable  little  company  when 
they  sat  round  the  fire,  which  had  been  lit  for  cheerfulness 
rather  than  for  warmth ;  and  Ingram,  at  least,  was  in  a 
particularly  pleasant  mood.  For  Sheila  had  seized  the 
opportunity,  when  her  father  had  gone  out  of  the  room  for 
a  few  minutes,  to  say  suddenly — 

"  Oh,  my  dear  friend,  if  you  care  for  her,  you  have  a  great 
happiness  before  you." 

"  Why,  Sheila  ?  "  he  said,  staring. 

"  She  cares  for  you  more  than  you  can  think — I  saw  it 
to-night  in  everything  she  said  and  did." 

"  I  thought  she  was  just  a  trifle  saucy,  do  you  know.  She 
shunted  me  out  of  the  conversation  altogether." 

Sheila  shook  her  head  and  smiled. 

"  She  was  embarrassed.  She  suspects  that  you  like  her, 
and  that  1  know  it,  and  that  I  came  to  see  her.  If  you  ask 
her  to  marry  you,  she  will  do  it  gladly." 

"  Sheila,"  Ingram  said,  with  a  severity  that  was  not  in  his 
heart,  "  you  must  not  say  such  things.  You  might  make 
fearful  mischief  by  putting  these  wild  notions  into  people's 
heads." 

"They  are  not  wild  notions,"  she  said,  quietly.  "A 
woman  can  tell  what  another  woman  is  thinking  about 
better  than  a  man." 

"  And  am  I  to  go  to  the  Tyrol  and  ask  her  to  marry  me  ?  " 
he  said,  with  the  air  of  a  meek  scholar. 

"  I  should  like  to  see  you  married — very,  very  much 
indeed,"  Sheila  said. 

"  And  to  her  ?  " 

"  Yes,  to  her,"  the  girl  said,  frankly.  "  For  I  am  sure  she 
has  a  great  regard  for  you,  and  she  is  clever  enough  to  put 
value  on — on — but  I  cannot  flatter  you,  Mr.  Ingram." 

"Shall  I  send  you  word  about  what  happens  in  the 
Tyrol  ?  "  he  said,  still  with  the  humble  air  of  one  receiving 
instructions. 

"  Yes." 

"  And  if  she  rejects  me,  what  shall  I  do  ?  " 

'2  E  -2 


420  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  She  will  not  reject  you." 

"  Shall  I  come  to  you  for  consolation,  and  ask  you  what 
you  meant  by  driving  me  on  such  a  blunder  ?  " 

"  If  she  rejects  you,"  Sheila  said,  with  a  smile,  "  it  will  be 
your  own  fault,  and  you  will  deserve  it.  For  you  are  a  little 
too  harsh  with  her,  and  you  have  too  much  authority,  and  I 
am  surprised  that  she  will  be  so  amiable  under  it.  Because, 
you  know,  a  woman  expects  to  be  treated  Avith  much  gentle- 
ness and  deference  before  she  has  said  she  will  marry — she 
likes  to  be  entreated,  and  coaxed,  and  made  much  of  ; 
but  instead  of  that,  you  are  very  overbearing  with  Mrs. 
Lorraine." 

"  I  did  not  mean  to  be,  Sheila,"  he  said,  honestly  enough. 
"  If  anything  of  the  kind  happened,  it  must  have  been  in  a 
joke." 

"  Oh  no,  not  a  joke,"  Sheila  said  ;  "  and  I  have  noticed  it 
before — the  very  first  evening  you  came  to  their  house.  And 
perhaps  you  did  not  know  of  it  yourself  ;  and  then  Mrs. 
Lorraine,  she  is  clever  enough  to  see  that  you  did  not  mean 
to  be  disrespectful.  But  she  will  expect  you  to  alter  that  a 
great  deal  if  you  ask  her  to  marry  you — that  is,  until  you 
are  married." 

"  Have  I  ever  been  overbearing  to  you,  Sheila  ?  "  he 
asked. 

"  To  me  ?  Oh  no.  You  have  always  been  very  gentle  to 
me  ;  but  I  know  how  that  is.  When  you  first  knew  me,  I 
was  almost  a  child,  and  you  treated  me  like  a  child ;  and 
ever  since  then  it  has  always  been  the  same.  But  to  others 
— yes,  you  are  too  unceremonious  ;  and  Mrs.  Lorraine  will 
expect  you  to  be  much  more  mild  and  amiable,  and  you 
must  let  her  have  opinions  of  her  own ' 

"  Sheila,  you  give  me  to  understand  that  I  am  a  bear,"  he 
said,  in  tones  of  injured  protest. 

Sheila  laughed. 

"  Have  I  told  you  the  truth  at  last  ?  It  was  no  matter  as 
long  as  you  had  ordinary  acquaintances  to  deal  with.  But 
now,  if  you  wish  to  marry  that  pretty  lady,  you  must  be 
much  more  gentle  if  you  are  discussing  anything  with  her  ; 
and  if  she  says'  anything  that  is  not  very  wise,  you  must  not 
say  bluntly  that  it  is  foolish,  but  you  must  smooth  it  away, 
and  put  her  right  gently,  and  then  she  will  be  grateful  to 


"HAME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE"  421 

you.  But  if  you  say  to  her,  '  Oh,  that  is  nonsense,'  as  you 
might  say  to  a  man,  you  will  hurt  her  very  much.  The  man 
would  not  care  ;  he  would  think  you  were  stupid  to  have  a 
different  opinion  from  him ;  but  a  woman  fears  she  is  not 
as  clever  as  the  man  she  is  talking  to,  and  likes  his  good 
opinion  ;  and  if  lie  says  something  careless  like  that,  she  is 
sensitive  to  it,  and  it  wounds  her.  To-night  you  con- 
tradicted Mrs.  Lorraine  about  the  h  in  those  Italian  words  ; 
and  I  am  quite  sure  you  were  wrong.  She  knows  Italian 
much  better  than  yon  do  ;  and  yet  she  yielded  to  you  very 
prettily." 

"  Go  on,  Sheila  ;  go  on,"  he  said,  with  a  resigned  air. 
••  What  else  did  I  do  ? " 

"  Oh,  a  great  many  rude  things.  You  should  not  have 
contradicted  Mrs.  Kavanagh  about  the  colour  of  an 
amethyst !  " 

"  But  why  ?  You  know  she  was  wrong  ;  and  she  said 
herself  a  minute  afterwards  that  she  was  thinking  of  a 
sapphire." 

"  But  you  ought  not  to  contradict  a  person  older  than 
yourself,"  said  Sheila,  sententiously. 

"  Goodness  gracious  me  !  Because  one  person  is  born  in 
one  year,  and  one  in  another,  is  that  any  reason  why  you 
should  say  that  an  amethyst  is  blue  ?  Mr.  Mackenzie,  come 
and  talk  to  this  girl.  She  is  trying  to  pervert  my  principles. 
She  says  that  in  talking  to  a  woman  you  have  to  abandon 
all  hope  of  being  accurate,  and  that  respect  for  the  truth  is 
not  to  be  thought  of.  Because  a  woman  has  a  pretty  face 
she  is  to  be  allowed  to  say  that  black  is  white,  and  white 
]  tea-green.  And  if  you  say  anything  to  the  contrary,  you 
are  a  brute,  and  had  better  go  and  bellow  by  yourself  in  a 
wilderness." 

••  Sheila  is  quite  right,"  said  old  Mackenzie,  at  a  venture. 

"  Oh,  do  you  think  so  ?  "  Ingram  asked,  coolly.  "  Then 
I  can  understand  how  her  moral  sentiment  has  been  de- 
stroyed ;  and  it  is  easy  to  see  where  she  has  got  a  set  of 
opinions  that  strike  at  the  very  roots  of  a  respectable  and 
decent  society." 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  Sheila,  seriously,  "  that  it  is  very 
rude  of  you  to  say  so,  even  in  jest  ?  If  you  treat  Mrs, 
Lorraine  in  this  way " 


422  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

She  suddenly  stopped.  Her  father  had  not  heard,  being 
busy  among  his  pipes.  So  the  subject  was  discreetly  dropped, 
Ingram  reluctantly  promising  to  pay  some  attention  to 
Sheila's  precepts  of  politeness. 

Altogether,  it  was  a  pleasant  evening  they  had  ;  but  when 
Ingram  had  left,  Mr.  Mackenzie  said  to  his  daughter — • 

"  Now,  look  at  this,  Sheila.  When  Mr.  Ingram  goes  away 
from  London,  you  hef  no  friend  at  all  then  in  the  place,  and 
you  are  quite  alone.  Why  will  you  not  come  to  the  Lewis, 
Sheila  ?  It  is  no  one  there  will  know  anything  of  what  has 
happened. here;  and  Mairi  she  is  a  good  girl,  and  she  will 
hold  her  tongue." 

"  They  will  ask  me  why  I  come  back  without  my  hus- 
band," Sheila  said,  looking  down. 

"  Oh,  you  will  leave  that  all  to  me,"  said  her  father,  who 
knew  he  had  surely  sufficient  skill  to  thwart  the  curiosity  of 
a  few  simple  creatures  in  Borva.  "  There  is  many  a  girl 
hass  to  go  home  for  a  time,  while  her  husband  he  is  away 
on  his  business  ;  and  there  will  no  one  hef  the  right  to  ask 
you  any  more  than  I  will  tell  them  ;  and  I  will  tell  them 
what  they  should  know — oh,  yes,  I  will  tell  them  ferry  well, 
and  you  will  hef  no  trouble  about  it.  And,  Sheila,  you  are 
a,  good  lass,  and  you  know  that  I  hef  many  things  to  attend 
to  that  is  not  easy  to  write  about " 

"  I  do  know  that,  papa,"  the  girl  said,  "  and  many  a  time 
have  I  wished  you  would  go  back  to  the  Lewis." 

"  And  leave  you  here  by  yourself  ?  Why,  you  are  talking 
foolishly,  Sheila.  But  now,  Sheila,  you  will  see  how  you 
could  go  back  with  me,  and  it  would  be  a  ferry  different 
thing  for  you  running  about  in  the  fresh  air  than  shut  up 
in  a  room  in  the  middle  of  a  town.  And  you  are  not  looking 
ferry  well,  my  lass,  and  Scarlett  she  will  hef  to  take  the 
charge  of  you." 

"  I  will  go  to  the  Lewis  with  you,  papa,  when  you  please," 
she  said  ;  and  he  was  glad  and  proud  to  hear  her  decision  ; 
but  there  was  no  happy  light  of  anticipation  in  her  eyes,  such 
as  ought  to  have  been  awakened  by  this  projected  journey  to 
the  far  islan  d  which  she  had  known  as  her  home. 

And  so  it  was  that  one  rough  and  blustering  afternoon 
the  Clansman  steamed  into  Stornoway  harbour  ;  and  Sheila, 
casting  timid  and  furtive  glances  towards  the  quay,  saw 


"  HA  ME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE  "  423 

Duncan  standing  there,  with  the  waggonette  some  little  dis- 
tance back,  under  charge  of  a  boy.  Duncan  was  a  proud 
man  that  day.  He  was  the  first  to  shove  the  gangway  on 
to  the  vessel ;  and  he  was  the  first  to  get  on  board  ;  and  in 
another  minute  Sheila  found  the  tall,  keen-eyed,  brown-faced 
keeper  before  her,  and  he  was  talking  in  a  rapid  and  eager 
fashion,  throwing  in  an  occasional  scrap  of  Gaelic  in  the 
mere  hurry  of  his  words. 

"  Oh  yes,  Miss  Sheila,  Scarlett  she  is  ferry  well  whatever, 
but  there  is  nothing  will  make  her  so  well  as  your  coming  back 
to  sa  Lewis,  and  we  wass  saying  yesterday  that  it  looked  as 
if  it  wass  more  as  three  or  four  years,  or  six  years,  since  you 
went  away  from  sa  Lewis,  but  now  it  iss  no  time  at  all,  for 
you  are  just  the  same  Miss  Sheila  as  we  knew  before  ;  and 
there  is  not  one  in  all  Borva  but  will  think  it  iss  a  good  day 
this  day  that  you  will  come  back — 

"  Duncan  !  "  said  Mackenzie,  with  an  impatient  stamp  of 
his  foot,  "  why  will  you  talk  like  a  stupid  man  ?  Get  the 
luggage  to  the  shore,  instead  of  keeping  us  all  the  day  in 
the  boat." 

"  Oh,  ferry  well,  Mr.  Mackenzie,"  said  Duncan,  departing 
with  an  injured  air,  and  grumbling  as  he  went ;  "  it  iss  no 
new  thing  to  you  to  see  Miss  Sheila,  and  you  will  have  no 
thocht  for  anyone  but  yourself.  But  I  will  get  out  the 
luggage — oh,  yes,  I  will  get  out  the  luggage." 

Sheila,  in  truth,  had  but  little  luggage  with  her  ;  but  she 
remained  on  board  the  boat  until  Duncan  was  quite  ready 
to  start,  for  she  did  not  wish  just  then  to  meet  any  of  her 
friends  in  Stornoway.  Then  she  stepped  ashore,  and  crossed 
the  quay,  and  got  into  the  waggonette  ;  and  the  two  horses, 
whom  she  had  caressed  for  a  moment,  seemed  to  know  that 
they  were  carrying  Sheila  back  to  her  own  country,  from 
the  speed  with  which  they  rattled  out  of  the  town,  and  away 
into  the  lonely  moorland. 

Mackenzie  let  them  have  their  way.  Past  the  solitary 
lakes  they  went,  past  the  long  stretches  of  undulating  morass, 
past  the  lonely  sheilings  perched  far  up  on  the  hills  :  and 
the  rough  and  blustering  winds  blew  about  them  ;  and  the 
torn  clouds  hurried  by  :  and  the  old,  strong-bearded  man 
who  shook  the  reins  and  gave  the  animals  their  heads,  could 
have  laughed  aloud  in  his  joy  that  he  was  driving  his  daughter 


424  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

home.  But  Sheila — she  sat  there  as  one  dead  ;  and  Mairi, 
timidly  regarding  her,  wondered  what  the  impassible  face 
and  the  bewildered,  sad  eyes  meant.  Did  she  not  smell  the 
sweet  strong  scent  of  the  bog  myrtle  ?  Had  she  no  interest 
in  the  great  birds  that  were  circling  in  the  air  over  by  the 
Barbhas  mountains  ?  Where  was  the  pleasure  she  used  to 
exhibit  in  remembering  the  curious  names  of  the  small  lakes 
they  passed  ? 

And  lo  !  the  rough  grey  day  broke  asunder,  and  a  great 
blaze  of  fire  appeared  in  the  west,  shining  across  the  moors 
and  touching  the  blue  slopes  of  the  distant  hills.  Sheila 
was  getting  near  to  the  region  of  beautiful  sunsets  and 
lambent  twilights,  and  the  constant  movement  and  mystery 
of  the  sea.  Overhead  the  heavy  clouds  were  still  hurried 
on  by  the  wind  ;  and  in  the  south  the  eastern  slopes  of  the 
hills  and  the  moors  were  getting  to  be  of  a  soft  purple  ;  but 
all  along  the  west,  where  her  home  was,  lay  a  great  flush  of 
gold  ;  and  she  knew  that  Loch  Roag  was  shining  there,  and 
the  gable  of  the  house  at  Borvabost  growing  warm  in  the 
radiant  light. 

"  It  is  a  good  afternoon  you  will  be  getting  to  see  Borva 
again,"  her  father  said  to  her  ;  but  all  the  answer  she  made 
was  to  ask  him  not  to  stop  at  Garra-na-hina,  but  to  drive 
straight  on  to  Callernish.  She  would  visit  the  people  at 
Garra-na-hina  some  other  day. 

The  boat  was  waiting  for  them  at  Callernish,  and  the  boat 
was  the  Maighdean-mhara. 

"  How  pretty  she  is!  How  have  you  kept  her  so  well, 
Duncan  ?  "  said  Sheila,  her  face  lighting  up  for  the  first 
time,  as  she  went  down  the  path  to  the  bright -painted  little 
vessel  that  scarcely  rocked  in  the  water  below. 

"  Bekass  we  netfer  knew  but  that  it  was  this  week,  or  the 
week  before,  or  the  next  week  you  would  come  back,  Miss 
Sheila,  and  you  would  want  your  boat ;  but  it  wass  Mr. 
Mackenzie  himself,  it  wass  he  that  did  all  the  pentin  of  the 
boat  ;  and  it  iss  as  well  done  as  Mr.  McNicol  could  have 
done  it,  and  a  great  deal  better  than  that  mirover." 

"  Won't  you  steer  her  yourself,  Sheila  ?  "  her  father  said, 
glad  to  see  that  she  was  at  last  being  interested  and  pleased. 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  I  will  steer  her,  if  I  have  not  forgotten  all  the 
points  that  Duncan  taught  me," 


"HAME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE"  425 

"  And  I  am  sure  you  hef  not  done  that,  Miss  Sheila," 
Duncan  said  ;  "  for  there  wass  no  one  knew  Loch  Roag  better 
as  you,  not  one,  and  you  hef  not  been  so  long  away  ;  and 
when  you  tek  the  tiller  in  your  hand,  it  will  all  come  back 
to  you  just  as  if  you  wass  going  away  from  Borva  the  day 
before  yesterday." 

She  certainly  had  not  forgotten  ;  and  she  was  proud  and 
pleased  to  see  how  well  the  shapely  little  craft  performed  its 
duties.  They  had  a  favourable  wind,  and  ran  rapidly  along 
the  opening  channels,  until,  in  due  course,  they  glided  into 
the  well-known  bay  over  which,  and  shining  in  the  yellow 
light  from  the  sunset,  they  saw  Sheila's  house. 

She  had  escaped  so  far  the  trouble  of  meeting  acquaint- 
ances ;  but  she  could  not  escape  her  friends  in  Borvabost. 
They  had  waited  for  her  for  hours,  not  knowing  when  the 
Clansman  might  arrive  at  Stornoway  ;  and  now  they  crowded 
down  to  the  shore,  and  there  was  a  great  shaking  of  hands, 
and  an  occasional  sob  from  some  old  crone,  and  a  thousand 
repetitions  of  the  familiar  "  And  are  you  ferry  well,  M  iss 
Sheila  ?  "  from  small  children  who  had  come  across  from  the 
village  in  defiance  of  mothers  and  fathers.  And  Sheila's 
face  brightened  into  a  wonderful  gladness ;  and  she  had  a 
hundred  questions  to  ask  for  one  answer  she  got ;  and  she 
did  not  know  what  to  do  with  the  number  of  small  brown 
lists  that  wanted  to  shake  hands  with  her. 

"  Will  you  let  Miss  Sheila  alone  ?  "  Duncan  called  out, 
adding  something  in  Gaelic  which  came  strangely  from  a 
man  who  sometimes  reproved  his  own  master  for  swearing. 
"  Get  away  with  you,  you  brats  ;  it  wass  better  you  would 
be  in  your  beds  than  bothering  people  that  wass  come  all  the 
way  from  Styornoway." 

Then  they  all  went  up  in  a  body  to  the  house  ;  and  Scarlett, 
who  had  neither  eyes,  ears,  nor  hands  but  for  the  young  girl 
who  had  been  the  very  pride  of  her  heart,  was  nigh  driven  to 
distraction  by  Mackenzie's  stormy  demands  for  oatcake,  and 
glasses,  and  whisky.  Scarlett  angrily  remonstrated  with  her 
husband  for  allowing  this  rabble  of  people  to  interfere  with 
the  comfort  of  Miss  Sheila ;  and  Duncan,  taking  her  re- 
proaches with  great  good  humour,  contented  himself  with 
doing  her  work ;  and  went  and  got  the  cheese,  and  the  plates, 
and  the  whisky,  while  Scarlett,  with  a  hundred  endearing 


426  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE. 

phrases,  was  helping  Sheila  to  take  off  her  travelling  things. 
And  Sheila,  it  turned  out,  had  brought  with  her  in  her  port- 
manteau certain  huge  and  wonderful  cakes,  not  of  oatmeal, 
from  Glasgow ;  and  these  were  soon  on  the  great  table  in 
the  kitchen  ;  and  Sheila  herself  distributing  pieces  to  those 
small  folks  who  were  so  awe-stricken  by  the  sight  of  this 
strange  dainty  that  they  forgot  her  injunctions  and  thanked 
her  timidly  in  Gaelic. 

"  Well,  Sheila,  my  lass,"  said  her  father  to  her,  as  they 
stood  at  the  door  of  the  house  and  watched  the  troop  of 
their  friends,  children  and  all,  go  over  the  hill  to  Borvabost, 
in  the  red  light  of  the  evening,  "  and  are  you  glad  to  be 
home  again  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  she  said,  heartily  enough;  and  Mackenzie 
thought  that  things  Avere  going  on  favourably. 

"  You  hef  no  such  sunsets  in  the  south,  Sheila,"  he 
observed,  loftily  casting  his  eye  around,  although  he  did  not 
usually  pay  much  attention  to  the  picturesqueiiess  of  his 
native  island ;  "  now  look  at  the  light  there  iss  on 
Suainabhal.  Do  you  see  the  red  on  the  water  down  there, 
Sheila  ?  Oh  yes,  I  thought  you  would  say  it  was  ferry 
beautiful — it  is  a  ferry  good  colour  on  the  water.  The  water 
looks  ferry  well  when  it  is  red.  You  hef  no  such  things  in 
London — not  any,  Sheila.  Now  we  must  go  indoors  ;  for 
these  things  you  can  see  any  day  here,  and  we  must  not  keep 
our  friends  waiting." 

An  ordinary,  dull-witted,  or  careless  man  might  have  been 
glad  to  have  a  little  quiet  after  so  long  and  tedious  a  jour- 
ney ;  but  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  no  such  person.  He  had 
resolved  to  guard  against  Sheila's  first  evening  at  home  being 
in  any  way  languid  or  monotonous  ;  and  so  he  had  asked  one 
or  two  of  his  especial  friends  to  remain  and  have  supper  with 
them.  Moreover,  he  did  not  wish  the  girl  to  spend  the  rest 
of  the  evening  out-of-doors,  when  the  melancholy  time  of 
the  twilight  drew  over  the  hills,  and  the  sea  began  to  sound 
remote  and  sad.  Sheila  should  have  a  comfortable  evening 
indoors  ;  and  he  would  himself,  after  supper,  when  the  small 
parlour  was  well  lit  up,  sing  for  her  one  or  two  songs,  just  to 
keep  the  thing  going,  as  it  were.  He  would  let  nobody  else 
sing.  These  Gaelic  songs  were  not  the  sort  of  music  to  make 
people  cheerful.  And  if  Sheila  herself  would  sing  for  them  ? 


"HAME  FAIN  WOULD  I  BE  "  427 

And  Sheila  did.  And  her  father  chose  the  songs  for  her, 
aud  they  were  the  blithest  he  could  find,  and  the  girl  seemed 
really  in  excellent  spirits.  They  had  their  pipes  and  their  hot 
whisky  and  water  in  this  little  parlour  ;  Mr.  Mackenzie  ex- 
plaining that  although  his  daughter  was  accustomed  to 
spacious  and  gilded  drawing-rooms,  where  such  a  thing  was 
impossible,  she  would  do  anything  to  make  her  friends  wel- 
come and  comfortable,  and  they  might  fill  their  glasses  and 
their  pipes  with  impunity.  And  Sheila  sang  again  and 
again,  all  cheerful  and  sensible  English  songs  ;  and  she  lis- 
tened to  the  odd  jokes  and  stories  her  friends  had  to  tell 
her ;  and  Mackenzie  was  delighted  with  the  success  of  his 
plans  and  precautions.  Was  not  her  very  appearance  now  a 
triumph  ?  She  was  laughing,  smiling,  talking  to  everyone  ; 
he  had  not  seen  her  so  happy  for  many  a  day. 

In  the  midst  of  it  all,  when  the  night  had  come  on  apace, 
what  was  this  wild  skirl  outside  that  made  everybody  start  ? 
Mackenzie  jumped  to  his  feet,  with  an  angry  vow  in  his 
heart,  that  if  this  "  teffle  of  a  piper  John  "  should  come  down 
the  hill  playing  "  Lochaber  no  more "  or  "  Cha  till  mi 
tuilich,"  or  any  other  mournful  tune,  he  would  have  his 
chanter  broken  in  a  thousand  splinters  over  his  head.  But 
what  was  the  wild  air  that  came  nearer  and  nearer,  until 
John  marched  into  the  house,  and  came,  with  ribbons  and 
pipes,  to  the  very  door  of  the  room  which  was  flung  open  to 
him  ?  Not  a  very  appropriate  air,  perhaps,  for  it  was — 

"  The  Campbells  are  coming,  oho !  oho  ! 
The  Campbells  are  coming,  oho !  oho ! 
The  Campbells  are  coming  to  bonny  Lochlovon ! 
The  Campbells  are  coming,  oho  !  oho ! " 

but  it  was,  to  Mr.  Mackenzie's  rare  delight,  a  right  good 
joyous  tune  ;  and  it  was  meant  as  a  welcome  to  Sheila  ;  and 
forthwith  he  caught  the  white-haired  piper  by  the  shoulder, 
and  dragged  him  in,  and  said — 

"  Put  down  your  pipes  and  come  into  the  house,  John  ! 
Pub  down  your  pipes,  and  tek  off  your  bonnet,  and  we  will 
hef  a  good  dram  together  this  night,  by  Kott !  And  it  is 
Sheila  herself  will  pour  out  the  whisky  for  you,  John  ;  and 
she  is  a  good  Highland  girl  ;  and  she  knows  the  piper  was 
neffer  born  that  could  be  hurt  by  whisky,  and  the  whisky 


428  "  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

was  neffer  yet  made  that  could  hurt  a  piper.     What  do  you 
say  to  that,  John  ?  " 

John  did  not  answer  ;  he  was  standing  before  Sheila, 
with  his  bonnet  in  his  hand,  but  with  his  pipes  still 
proudly  over  his  shoulder.  And  he  took  the  glass  from 
her,  and  called  out  "  Shlainte  !  "  and  drained  every  drop  of 
it  out  to  welcome  Mackenzie's  daughter  home. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  VOYAGE   OF  THE   "  PHCEBE." 

IT  was  a  cold  morning  in  January,  and  up  here  among  the 
Jura  hills  the  clouds  had  melted  into  a  small  and  chilling 
rain  that  fell  ceaselessly.  The  great  "  Paps  of  Jura  "  were 
hidden  in  the  mist  ;  even  the  valleys  near  at  hand  were 
vague  and  dismal  in  the  pale  fog  ;  and  the  Sound  of  Islay, 
lying  below,  and  the  far  sea  beyond,  were  gradually 
growing  indistinguishable.  In  a  rude  little  sheiling,  built 
on  one  of  the  plateaus  of  rock,  Frank  Lavender  sat  alone, 
listening  to  the  plashing  of  the  rain  without.  A  rifle  that 
he  had  just  carefully  dried  lay  across  his  knees.  A  brace 
of  deerhounds  had  stretched  out  their  paws  on  the  earthen 
floor,  and  had  put  their  long  noses  between  their  paws  to 
produce  a  little  warmth.  It  was,  indeed,  a  cold  and  damp 
morning  ;  and  the  little  hut  was  pervaded  with  a  smell  of 
wet  wood,  and  also  of  peat-ashes,  for  one  of  the  gillies  had 
tried  to  light  a  fire,  but  the  peats  had  gone  out. 

It  was  Lavender  who  had  let  the  fire  go  out.  He  had 
forgotten  it.  He  was  thinking  of  other  things — of  a  song, 
mostly,  that  Sheila  used  to  sing ;  and  lines  of  it  went 
hither  and  thither  through  his  brain,  as  he  recalled  the 
sound  of  her  voice  : — 

"Haste  to  thy  barque, 
Coastwise  steer  not ; 
Sail  wide  of  Mull, 
Jura  near  not ! 

"'Farewell,'  she  said, 
Her  last  pang  subduing, 
'Brave  Maclntyre, 
Costly  thy  wooing ! ' " 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "PHCEBE"  429 

There  came  into  the  shelling  a  little  wiry  old  keeper, 
with  shaggy  grey  hair  and  keen  black  eyes. 

"  Cosh  bless  me  !  "  he  said,  petulantly,  as  he  wrung  the 
wet  out  of  his  bonnet,  "you  hef  let  the  peats  go  out, 
Mr.  Lavender,  and  who  will  tell  when  the  rain  will  go 
off?" 

"  It  can't  last  long,  Neil.  It  came  on  too  suddenly  for 
that.  I  thought  we  were  going  to  get  one  fine  day  when 
we  started  this  morning  ;  but  you  don't  often  manage  that 
here,  Neil." 

"Indeed  no,  sir,"  said  Neil,  who  was  not  a  native  of 
Jura,  and  was  as  eager  as  anyone  to  abuse  the  weather 
prevailing  there  ;  "  it  is  a  ferry  bad  place  for  the  weather. 
If  the  Almichty  were  to  tek  the  sun  away  a'  tagether,  it 
would  be  days  and  weeks  and  weeks  before  you  would  find 
it  oot.  But  it  iss  a  good  thing,  sir,  you  will  get  the  one 
hind  before  the  mist  came  down." 

"  They  haven't  come  back  with  the  pony  yet  ?  "  Lavender 
asked,  laying  down  his  rifle  and  going  to  the  door  of 
the  hut. 

"  Oh  no,"  Neil  said,  following  him,  "  it  iss  a  long  way  to 
get  the  powny,  and  maybe  they  will  stop  at  Mr.  MacDougall's 
to  hef  a  dram.  And  I  am  not  sure,  sir,  we  will  not  get 
another  hind  to  tek  down  with  us  yet,  if  the  wind  would 
carry  away  the  mist,  for  the  rain,  that  is  nearly  off  now, 
and  as  you  are  very  wet,  sir,  already,  it  iss  no  matter  if  we 
go  down  through  the  glen  and  cross  the  water  to  get  the 
side  of  Ben  Bheulah." 

"  That  is  true  enough,  Neil ;  and  I  fancy  the  clouds 
are  beginning  to  lift.  And  there  they  come  with  the 
pony." 

Nefl  directed  his  glass  towards  a  small  group  that  appeared 
to  be  coming  up  the  side  of  the  valley  below  them,  and  that 
was  still  at  some  considerable  distance. 

"  Cosh  bless  me  !  "  he  cried,  "  what  is  that  ?  There  iss 
two  strangers — oh  yes,  indeed,  and  there  is  one  of  them  on 
the  pony." 

Lavender's  heart  leaped  within  him.  If  they  wi-re 
strangers,  they  were  coming  to  see  him  ;  and  hew  long  was 
it  since  he  had  seen  the  face  of  any  one  of  his  old  friends 
and  companions  ?  It  seemed  to  him  years. 


430  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"•  Is  it  a  man  or  a  woman  on  the  pony,  Neil  ?  "  he  asked, 
hurriedly,  with  some  wild  fancy  flashing  through  his  brain. 
"  Give  me  the  glass  !  " 

"Oh,  it  is  a  man,"  said  Neil,  handing  over  the  glass. 
"  What  would  a  woman  be  doing  up  sa  hills  on  a  morning 
like  this  ?  " 

The  small  party  below  came  up  out  of  the  grey  mist ;  and 
Lavender  in  the  distance  heard  a  long  view-halloo. 

"  Cott  tarn  them  !  "  said  Neil,  at  a  venture.  "  There  is 
not  a  deer  on  Ben  an  Cabrach  that  will  not  hear  them  !  " 

"  But  if  these  strangers  are  coming  to  see  me,  I  fear  we 
must  leave  the  deer  alone,  Neil." 

"  Ferry  well,  sir,  ferry  well,  sir,  it  is  a  bad  day  whatever  ; 
and  it  is  not  many  strangers  will  come  to  Jura.  I  suppose 
they  have  come  to  Port  Ascaig,  and  taken  the  ferry  across 
the  Sound." 

"  I  am  going  to  meet  them  on  chance,"  Lavender  said  ; 
and  he  set  off  along  the  side  of  the  deep  valley,  leaving 
Neil  with  the  dogs  and  the  rifles. 

"  Hillo,  Johnny ! "  he  cried,  in  amazement,  when  he 
came  upon  the  advancing  group.  "  And  you,  Mosenberg  ! 
By  Jove,  how  did  you  ever  get  here  ?  " 

There  was  an  abundance  of  hand-shaking  and  incoherent 
questions  when  young  Mosenberg  jumped  down  on  the  wet 
heather,  and  the  three  friends  had  actually  met.  Lavender 
scarcely  knew  what  to  say  ;  these  two  faces  were  so  strange, 
and  yet  so  familiar  ;  their  appearance  there  was  so  un- 
expected, his  pleasure  so  great. 

"  I  can't  believe  my  eyes  yet,  Johnny.  Why  did  you 
bring  him  here  ?  Don't  you  know  what  you  will  have  to 
put  up  with  in  this  place  ?  Well,  this  does  do  a  fellow's 
heart  good.  I  am  awfully  pleased  to  see  you,  and  it  is  very 
kind  of  you " 

"  But  I  am  very  cold,"  the  handsome  Jew-boy  said,  swing- 
ing his  arms  and  stamping  his  feet.  "  Wet  boots,  wet  carts, 
wet  roads,  wet  saddles,  and  everywhere  cold,  cold,  cold — 

"  And  he  won't  drink  whisky,  so  what  is  he  to  expect  ?  " 
Johnny  Eyre  said. 

"  Come  along  up  to  a  little  hut  here,"  Lavender  said, 
"  and  we'll  try  to  get  a  fire  lit.  And  I  have  some  brandy 
there " 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "Pff(E£E»  431 

"  And  you  have  plenty  of  water  to  mix  with  it,"  said  the 
boy,  looking  mournfully  around.  "  Very  good.  Let  us 
have  the  fire  and  the  warm  drink  :  and  then,  you  know  the 
story  of  the  music  that  was  frozen  in  the  trumpet,  and  that 
all  came  out  when  it  was  thawed  at  a  fire-  ?  When  we  get 
warm  we  have  very  great  news  to  tell  you — oh,  very  great 
news  indeed." 

"  I  don't  want  any  news — I  want  your  company.  Come 
along,  like  good  fellows,  and  leave  the  news  for  afterwards. 
The  men  are  going  on  with  a  pony  to  fetch  a  hind  that  has 
been  shot — they  won't  be  back  for  an  hour,  I  suppose,  at 
the  soonest.  This  is  the  sheiling  up  here,  where  the  brandy 
is  secreted.  Now,  Neil,  help  us  to  get  up  a  blaze.  If  any 
of  you  have  newspapers,  letters,  or  anything  that  will  set  a 
few  sticks  on  fire " 

"I  have  a  box  of  wax  matches,"  Johnny  said,  "and  I 
know  how  to  light  a  peat-fire  better  than  any  man  in  this 
country." 

He  was  not  very  successful  at  first,  for  the  peats  were  a 
trifle  damp  ;  but  in  the  end  he  conquered,  and  a  very  fair 
blaze  was  produced,  although  the  smoke  that  filled  the 
sheiling  had  nearly  blinded  Mosenberg's  eyes.  Then 
Lavender  produced  a  small  tin  pot  and  a  solitary  tumbler  ; 
and  they  boiled  some  water,  and  lit  their  pipes,  and  made 
themselves  seats  of  peat  round  the  fire.  All  the  while  a 
brisk  conversation  was  going  on,  some  portions  of  which 
astonished  Lavender  considerably. 

For  months  back,  indeed,  he  had  almost  cut  himself  off 
from  the  civilized  world.  His  address  was  known  to  one  or 
two  persons  ;  and  sometimes  they  sent  him  a  letter  ;  but  he 
was  a  bad  correspondent.  The  news  of  his  aunt's  death  did 
not  reach  him  till  a  fortnight  after  the  funeral ;  and  then 
it  was  by  a  singular  chance  that  he  noticed  it  in  the 
columns  of  an  old  newspaper. 

"  That  is  the  only  thing  I  regret  about  coming  away,"  he 
was  saying  to  these  two  friends  of  his  ;  "  I  should  like  to 
have  seen  the  old  woman  before  she  died.  She  was  very 
kind  to  me." 

"Well,"  said  Johnny  Eyre,  with  a  shake  of  the  head, 
"  that  is  all  very  well ;  but  to  an  outsider  like  myself — you 
see  it  looks  to  me  a  little  unnatural  that  she  should  go  and 


432  A  PRINCESS  OF  THVLE 

leave  her  money  to  a  mere  friend,  and  not  to  her  own 
relations " 

"  I  am  very  glad  she  did,"  Lavender  said.  "  I  had  as 
good  as  asked  her  to  do  it  long  before.  And  Ted  Ingram 
will  make  a  better  use  of  it  than  I  ever  did." 

"  It  is  all  very  well  for  you  to  say  so  now,  after  all  the 
fuss  about  those  two  pictures  ;  but  suppose  she  had  left  you 
to  starve  ?  " 

"  Never  mind  suppositions,"  Lavender  said,  to  get  rid  of 
the  subject.  "  Tell  me,  Mosenberg,  how  is  that  overture  of 
yours  getting  on  ?  " 

"  It  is  nearly  finished,"  said  the  lad,  with  a  flush  of 
pleasure,  "  and  I  have  shown  it  in  rough  to  two  or  three 
good  friends,  and — shall  I  tell  you  ? — it  may  be  performed 
at  the  Crystal  Palace.  But  that  is  a  chance.  And  the  fate 
of  it,  that  is  also  a  chance.  But  you — you  have  succeeded 
all  at  once,  and  brilliantly,  and  all  the  world  is  talking  of 
you ;  and  yet  you  go  away  among  mountains,  and  live  in 
the  cold  and  wet,  and  you  might  as  well  be  dead." 

"  What  an  ungrateful  boy  it  is  !  "  Lavender  cried.  "  Here 
you  have  a  comfortable  fire,  and  hot  brandy-and-water, 
and  biscuits,  and  cigars  if  you  wish  ;  and  you  talk  about 
people  wishing  to  leave  these  things  and  die !  Don't 
you  know  that  in  half-an-hour's  time  you  will  see  that 
pony  come  back  with  a  deer — a  fine  great  fat  hind — slung 
across  it  ;  and  won't  you  be  proud  when  MacDougall 
takes  you  out  and  gives  you  a  chance  of  driving  home  such 
a  prize  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  very  cold  life,"  the  lad  said,  passing  his  hands 
over  the  fire. 

"  That  is  because  you  won't  drink  anything,"  said  Johnny 
Eyre,  against  whom  no  such  charge  could  be  brought. 
"  And  don't  you  know  that  the  drinking  of  whisky  is  a 
provision  invented  by  nature  to  guard  human  beings  like 
you  and  me  from  cold  and  wet  ?  You  are  flying  in  the 
face  of  Providence  if  you  don't  drink  whisky  among  the 
Scotch  hills." 

"  And  have  you  people  to  talk  to  ?  "  said  Mosenberg, 
looking  at  Lavender  with  a  vague  wonder,  for  he  could  not 
understand  why  any  man  should  choose  such  a  life. 

"  Not  many." 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "PHCEBE"  433 

"  What  do  you  do  on  the  long  evenings  when  you  are  by 
yourself  ?  " 

"  Well,  it  isn't  very  cheerful  ;  but  it  does  a  man  good 
service  sometimes  to  be  alone  for  a  time  ;  it  lets  him  find 
himself  out." 

"  You  ought  to  be  up  in  London,  to  hear  all  the  praise  of 
the  people  about  your  two  pictures.  Everyone  is  talking  of 
them  ;  the  newspapers,  too — have  you  seen  the  newspapers  ?  " 

"  One  or  two.  But  all  I  know  of  these  two  pictures  is 
derived  from  offers  forwarded  me  by  the  Secretary  at  the 
Exhibition  Rooms.  I  was  surprised  when  I  got  them  at 
first.  But  never  mind  that.  Tell  me  more  about  the  people 
one  used  to  know.  What  about  Ingram  now  ?  Has  he  cut 
the  Board  of  Trade  ?  Does  he  drive  in  the  Park  ?  Is  he 
still  in  his  rooms  in  Sloane  Street  ?  " 

"  Then  you  have  had  no  letters  from  him  ?  "  Mosenberg 
said,  with  some  surprise. 

"  Xo.  Probably  he  does  not  know  where  I  am.  In  any 
case " 

"  But  he  is  going  to  be  married  ! "  Mosenberg  cried. 
"  You  did  not  know  that  ?  And  to  Mrs.  Lorraine  ?  " 

"  You  don't  say  so !  Why,  he  used  to  hate  her — but 
that  was  before  he  knew  her.  To  Mrs.  Lorraine  ?  " 

"Yes.  And  it  is  amusing.  She  is  so  proud  of  him. 
And  if  he  speaks  at  the  table,  she  will  turn  away  from  you, 
as  if  you  were  not  worth  listening  to,  and  have  all  her  atten- 
tion for  him.  And  whatever  is  his  opinion,  she  will  defend 
that,  and  you  must  not  disagree  with  her — oh,  it  is  very 
amusing  !  "  And  the  lad  laughed,  and  shook  back  his  curls. 

"  It  is  an  odd  thing,"  Lavender  said  ;  "  but  many  a  time, 
long  before  Ingram  ever  saw  Mrs.  Lorraine,  I  used  to 
imagine  these  two  married.  I  knew  she  was  just  the  sort 
of  clever,  independent,  clear-headed  woman  to  see  Ingram's 
strong  points,  and  rate  them  at  their  proper  value.  But  I 
never  expected  anything  of  the  sort,  of  course  ;  for  I  had 
always  a  notion  that  some  day  or  other  he  would  be  led  into 
marrying  some  pretty,  gentle,  and  soft-headed  young  thing, 
whom  he  would  have  to  take  through  life  in  a  protecting 
sort  of  way,  and  who  would  never  be  a  real  companion  for 
him.  So  he  is  to  marry  Mrs.  Lorraine,  after  all !  Well,  he 
won't  become  a  man  of  fashion,  despite  all  his  money.  He 

-2  F 


434  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

is  sure  to  start  a  yacht,  for  one  tiling.  And  they  will  travel 
a  good  |deal,  I  suppose.  I  must  write  and  congratulate 
him." 

"  I  met  him  on  the  day  I  went  to  see  your  pictures," 
Mosenberg  said.  "  Mrs.  Lorraine  was  looking  at  the  bigger 
one  a  long  time,  and  at  last  she  came  back  and  said,  '  The 
sea  in  that  picture  makes  me  feel  cold.'  That  was  a  com- 
pliment, was  it  not  ?  Only  you  cannot  get  a  good  view 
very  often  ;  for  the  people  will  not  stand  back  from  the 
pictures.  But  everyone  asks  why  you  did  not  keep  these 
two  over  for  the  Academy." 

"  I  shall  have  other  two  for  the  Academy,  I  hope." 

"  Commissions  ?  "  Johnny  asked,  with  a  practical  air. 

"  No.  I  have  had  some  offers  ;  but  I  prefer  to  leave  the 
thing  open.  But  you  have  not  told  me  how  you  got  here 
yet,"  Lavender  added,  continually  breaking  away  from  this 
subject  of  the  pictures. 

"  In  the  Plmbe,"  Eyre  said. 

"  Is  she  in  the  bay  ?  " 

"  Oh  no.  We  had  to  leave  her  at  Port  Ellen  to  get  a  few 
small  repairs  done,  and  Mosenberg  and  I  came  on  by  road 
to  Port  Ascaig.  Mind  you,  she  was  quite  small  enough  to 
come  round  the  Mull  at  this  time  of  the  year." 

"  I  should  think  so.     What's  your  crew  ?  " 

"  Two  men  and  a  lad,  besides  Mosenberg  and  myself,  and 
I  can  tell  you  we  had  our  hands  full  sometimes." 

"  You've  given  up  open  boats  with  stone  ballast  now," 
Lavender  said,  with  a  laugh. 

"  Rather.  But  it  was  no  laughing  matter,"  Eyre  added, 
with  a  sudden  gravity  coming  over  his  face.  "  It  was  the 
narrowest  squeak  I  ever  had  ;  and  I  don't  know  now  how  I 
clung  on  to  that  place  till  the  day  broke.  When  I  came  to 
myself  and  called  out  for  you,  I  never  expected  to  hear  you 
answer  ;  and  in  the  darkness,  by  Jove  !  your  voice  sounded 
like  the  voice  of  a  ghost.  How  you  managed  to  drag  me 
so  far  up  that  seaweed  I  can't  imagine  ;  and  then  the 
dipping  down  and  under  the  boat " 

"  It  was  that  dip  down  that  saved  me,"  Lavender  said. 
"  It  brought  me  to ;  and  made  me  scramble  like  a  rat  up 
the  other  side  as  soon  as  I  felt  my  hands  on  the  rock  again. 
It  was  a  narrow  squeak,  as  you  say,  Johnny.  Bo  you 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "PHCEBE"  435 

remember  how  black  the  place  looked  when  the  first  light 
began  to  show  in  the  sky  ;  and  how  we  kept  each  other 
awake  by  calling  ;  and  how  you  called  '  hurrah  ! '  when  we 
heard  Donald  ;  and  how  strange  it  was  to  find  ourselves  so 
near  the  mouth  of  the  harbour,  after  all  ?  During  the 
night  I  fancied  we  must  have  been  thrown  on  Battle  island, 
you  know " 

"  I  do  not  like  to  hear  about  that,"  young  Mosenberg 
said.  "  And  always,  if  the  wind  came  on  strong,  or  if  the 
skies  grew  black,  Eyre  would  tell  me  all  the  story  over  again 
when  we  were  in  this  boat  coming  down  by  Arran  and 
Cantyre.  Let  us  go  out  and  see  if  they  come  with  the  deer. 
Has  the  rain  stopped  ?  " 

At  this  moment,  indeed,  sounds  of  the  approaching  party 
were  heard,  and  when  Lavender  and  his  friends  went  to  the 
door,  the  pony,  with  the  deer  slung  on  to  him,  was  just 
coming  up.  It  was  a  sufficiently  picturesque  sight — the 
rude  little  shelling  with  its  peat-fire,  the  brown  and  wiry 
gillies,  the  slain  deer  roped  on  to  the  pony,  and  all  around 
the  wild  magnificence  of  hill  and  valley  clothed  in  moving 
mists.  The  rain  had,  indeed,  cleared  off ;  but  these  pale 
white  fogs  still  clung  around  the  mountains,  and  rendered 
the  valleys  vague  and  shadowy.  Lavender  informed  Neil 
that  he  would  make  no  further  effort  that  day  ;  he  gave  the 
men  a  glass  of  whisky  all  round  ;  and  then,  with  his  friends, 
he  proceeded  to  make  his  way  down  to  the  small  white 
cottage  fronting  the  Sound  of  Islay,  which  had  been  his 
home  for  months  back. 

Just  before  setting  off,  however,  he  managed  to  take 
young  Mosenberg  aside  for  a  moment. 

"  I  suppose,"  he  said,  with  his  eyes  cast  down,  "  I  suppose 
you  heard  something  from  Ingram  of — of  Sheila  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  lad,  rather  bashfully.  "  Ingram  had 
heard  from  her.  She  was  still  in  Lewis." 

"  And  well  ?  " 

"  I  think  so  ;  yes,"  said  Mosenberg  ;  and  then  he  added, 
with  some  hesitation,  "  I  should  like  to  speak  to  you  about  it 
when  we  have  the  opportunity.  There  were  some  things  that 
Mr.  Ingram  said — I  am  sure  he  would  like  you  to  know  them." 

"There  was  no  message  to  me?"  Lavender^asked^in  ;i 
low  voice. 

•2  F  -2 


436  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  From  her  ?  No.  But  it  was  the  opinion  of  Mr. 
Ingram — — ' 

"  Oh,  never  mind  that,  Mosenberg,"  said  the  other, 
turning  away  wearily.  "  I  suppose  you  won't  find  it  too 
fatiguing  to  walk  from  here  back  ?  It  will  warm  you,  you 
know  ;  and  the  old  woman  down  there  will  get  you  some- 
thing to  eat.  You  may  make  it  luncheon  or  dinner,  as  you 
like,  for  it  will  be  nearly  two  by  the  time  you  get  down. 
Then  you  can  go  for  a  prowl  round  the  coast ;  if  it  does  not 
rain,  I  shall  be  working  as  long  as  there  is  daylight.  Then 
we  can  have  dinner  and  supper  combined  in  the  evening. 
You  will  get  venison  and  whisky." 

"  Don't  you  ever  have  anything  else  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes.  The  venison  will  be  in  honour  of  you.  I 
generally  have  mutton  and  whisky." 

"  Look  here,  Lavender,"  the  lad  said,  with  considerable 
confusion,  "  the  fact  is — Eyre  and  I — we  brought  you  a  few 
things  in  the  Phoebe — a  little  wine,  you  know,  and  some  such 
things.  To-morrow,  if  you  could  get  a  messenger  to  go 
down  to  Port  Ellen — but  no,  1  suppose  Ave  must  go  and 
work  the  boat  up  the  Sound." 

"  If  you  do  that,  I  must  go  with  you,"  Lavender  said, 
*'  for  the  chances  are  that  your  skipper  doesn't  know  the 
currents  in  the  Sound,  and  they  are  rather  peculiar,  I 
can  tell  you.  So  Johnny  and  you  have  brought  me  some 
wine.  I  wish  we  had  it  now,  to  celebrate  your  arrival ;  for 
I  am  afraid  I  can  offer  you  nothing  but  whisky." 

The  old  Highland  woman  who  had  charge  of  the  odd 
little  cottage  in  which  Lavender  lived  was  put  into  a  state 
of  violent  consternation  by  the  arrival  of  these  two  strangers  ; 
but  as  Lavender  said  he  would  sleep  on  a  couple  of  chairs, 
and  give  his  bed  to  Mosenberg,  and  the  sofa  to  Eyre,  and 
as  Mosenberg  declared  that  the  house  was  a  marvel  of 
neatness  and  comfort,  and  as  Johnny  assured  her  that  he 
had  frequently  slept  in  a  herring-barrel,  she  grew  gradually 
pacified.  There  was  a  little  difficulty  about  plates  and 
knives  and  forks  at  luncheon,  which  consisted  of  cold 
mutton  and  two  bottles  of  ale  that  had  somehow  been 
overlooked  ;  but  all  these  minor  inconveniences  were  soon 
smoothed  over ;  and  then  Lavender,  carrying  his  canvas 
under  his  arm,  and  a  portable  easel  over  his  shoulder,  went 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "PH(EBE»  437 

down  to  the  shore,  bade  his  companions  good-bye  for  a 
couple  of  hours,  and  left  them  to  explore  the  winding  and 
rocky  coast  of  Jura. 

In  the  evening  they  had  dinner  in  a  small  parlour,  which 
was  pretty  well  filled  with  a  chest  of  drawers,  a  sofa,  and  a 
series  of  large  canvasses.  There  was  a  peat-fire  burning  in 
the  grate,  and  two  candles  on  the  table ;  but  the  small 
room  did  not  get  oppressively  hot,  for  each  time  the  door 
was  opened  a  draught  of  cold  sea-air  rushed  in  from  the 
passage,  sometimes  blowing  out  one  of  the  candles,  but 
always  sweetening  the  atmosphere.  Then  Johnny  had 
some  fine  tobacco  with  him  ;  and  Mosenberg  had  brought 
Lavender  a  present  of  a  meerschaum  pipe  ;  and  presently  a 
small  kettle  of  hot  water  was  put  in  requisition,  and  the 
friends  drew  round  the  fire. 

"  Well,  it  is  good  of  you  to  come  and  see  a  fellow  like 
this,"  Lavender  said,  with  a  very  apparent  and  hearty 
gratitude  in  his  face  ;  "  I  can  scarcely  believe  my  eyes  that 
it  is  true.  And  can  you  make  any  stay,  Johnny  ?  Have 
you  brought  your  colours  with  you  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  I  don't  mean  to  work,"  Johnny  said.  "  I  have 
always  had  a  fancy  for  a  mid-winter  cruise.  It's  a  harden- 
ing sort  of  thing,  you  know.  You  soon  get  used  to  it,  don't 
you,  Moseuberg  ?  " 

And  Johnny  grinned. 

"  Not  yet — I  may  afterwards,"  said  the  lad.  "  But  at 
present  this  is  more  comfortable  than  being  on  deck  at 
night  when  it  rains  and  you  know  not  where  you  are  going." 

"  But  that  was  only  your  own  perversity.  You  might 
just  as  well  have  stopped  in  the  cabin  and  played  that 
cornopean,  and  made  yourself  warm  and  comfortable. 
Really,  Lavender,  it's  very  good  fun ;  and  if  you  only 
watch  for  decent  weather,  you  can  go  anywhere.  Fancy 
our  coming  round  the  Mull  with  the  Phoebe  yesterday  ! 
And  we  had  quite  a  pleasant  run  across  to  Islay." 

"  And  where  do  you  propose  to  go  after  leaving  Jura  ?  " 
Lavender  asked. 

"  Well,  you  know,  the  main  object  of  our  cruise  was  to 
come  and  see  you.  But  if  you  care  to  join  us  for  a  few 
days,  we  will  go  wherever  you  like.'' 

"  If  you  are  going  further  north,  I  must  go  with  you," 


433  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Lavender  said,  "  for  you  are  bound  to  drown  yourself  some 
day,  Johnny,  if  some  one  doesn't  take  care  of  you." 

There  Avas  no  deep  design  in  this  project  of  Johnny's ; 
but  he  had  had  a  vague  impression  that  Lavender  might 
like  to  go  north,  if  only  to  have  a  passing  glimpse  at  the 
island  he  used  to  know. 

"  One  of  my  fellows  is  Avell  acquainted  with  the  Hebrides," 
he  said  ;  "  if  you  don't  think  it  too  much  of  a  risk,  I  should 
like  it  myself  ;  for  those  northern  islands  must  look  un- 
commonly wild  and  savage  in  winter  ;  and  one  likes  to  have 
new  experiences.  Fancy,  Mosenberg,  what  material  you 
will  get  for  your  next  piece — it  will  be  full  of  storms,  and 
seas,  and  thunder — you  know  how  the  wind  whistles  through 
the  overture  to  the  Diamants  de  la  Couronne " 

"  It  will  whistle  through  us,"  said  the  boy,  with  an  antici- 
patory shiver  ;  "  but  I  do  not  mind  the  wind  if  it  is  not  wet. 
It  is  the  wet  that  makes  a  boat  so  disagreeable — everything 
is  so  cold  and  clammy — you  can  touch  nothing — and  when 
you  put  your  head  out  in  the  morning — pah  !  a  dash  of 
rain  and  mist  and  salt  water  altogether  gives  you  a 
shock " 

"  What  made  you  come  round  the  Mull,  Johnny,  instead  of 
cutting  through  the  Crinan  ?  "  Lavender  asked  of  his  friend. 

"  Well,"  said  the  youth,  modestly,  "  nothing  except  that 
two  or  three  men  said  we  couldn't  do  it." 

"  I  thought  so,"  Lavender  said.  "  And  I  see  I  must  go 
with  you,  Johnny.  You  must  play  no  more  of  these  tricks. 
You  must  watch  your  time,  and  run  her  quietly  up  the 
Sound  of  Jura  to  Crinan  ;  and  watch  again  and  get  her  up 
to  Oban  ;  and  watch  again  and  get  her  up  to  Portree.  Then 
you  may  consider.  It  is  quite  possible  you  may  have  fine, 
clear  weather  if  there  is  a  moderate  north-east  wind 
blowing " 

"  A  north-east  wind  !  "  Mosenberg  cried. 

"  Yes,"  Lavender  replied,  confidently,  for  he  had  not  for- 
gotten what  Sheila  used  to  teach  him ;  "  that  is  your  only 
chance.  If  you  have  been  living  in  fog  for  a  fortnight, 
you  will  never  forget  your  gratitude  to  a  north-easter  when 
it  suddenly  sets  in  to  lift  the  clouds  and  show  you  a  bit  of 
blue  sky.  But  it  may  knock  you  about  a  bit  in  crossing  the 
Minch." 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "PHCEBE"  439 

••  We  have  come  round  the  Mull,  and  we  can  go  any- 
where," Johnny  said.  "  I'd  back  the  Phcele  to  take  you 
safely  to  the  West  Indies  ;  wouldn't  you,  Mosenberg  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,"  the  boy  said.  "  I  would  back  her  to  take 
you,  not  to  take  me." 

T\vo  or  three  days  thereafter  the  P/iabe  was  brought  up 
the  Sound  from  Port  Ellen,  and  such  things  as  were  meant 
as  a  present  to  Lavender  were  landed.  Then  the  three 
friends  embarked  ;  for  the  weather  had  cleared  considerably  ; 
and  there  was,  indeed,  when  they  set  out,  a  pale,  wintry 
sunshine  gleaming  on  the  sea,  and  on  the  white  deck  and 
spars  of  the  handsome  little  cutter  which  Johnny  com- 
manded. The  Phmbe  was  certainly  a  great  improvement  on 
the  crank  craft  in  which  he  used  to  adventure  his  life  on 
Loch  Fyne ;  she  was  big  enough,  indeed,  to  give  plenty  of 
work  to  everybody  on  board  of  her ;  and  when  once  she 
had  got  into  harbour,  and  things  were  put  to  rights,  her 
small  saloon  proved  a  jolly  and  comfortable  little  place 
enough.  They  had  some  pleasant  evenings  in  this  way  after 
the  work  of  the  day  wras  over  ;  when  the  swinging  lamps 
shone  down  on  the  table  that  was  furnished  with  wine- 
glasses, bottles,  cigars,  and  cards.  Johnny  was  very  proud 
of  being  in  command,  and  of  his  exploit  in  doubling  the 
.Mull.  He  was  continually  consulting  charts  and  compasses, 
and  going  on  deck  to  communicate  his  last  opinion  to  his 
skipper.  Mosenberg,  too,  was  getting  better  accustomed  to 
the  hardships  of  yachting,  and  learning  how  to  secure  a  fair 
amount  of  comfort.  Lavender  never  said  that  he  wished 
to  go  near  Lewis ;  but  there  was  a  sort  of  tacit  under- 
standing that  their  voyage  should  tend  in  that  direction. 

They  had  some  roughish  weather  on  reaching  Skyc,  and, 
in  consequence,  remained  in  harbour  a  couple  of  days.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  a  happy  opportunity  presented  itself  of 
cutting  across  the  Little  Minch — the  Great  Minch  was 
considered  a  trifle  risky — to  Loch  Maddy  in  North  Uist. 
They  were  now  in  the  Western  Islands  ;  and  strange  indeed 
was  the  appearance  which  the  bleak  region  presented  at  this 
time  of  the  year — the  lonely  coasts,  the  multitudes  of  wild 
fowl,  the  half-savage,  wondering  inhabitants,  the  treeless 
wastes,  and  desolate  rocks.  What  these  remote  and  melan- 
choly islands  might  have  looked  like  in  fog  and  misty  rain 


440  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

could  only  be  imagined,  however  ;  fortunately,  the  longed- 
for  north-easter  had  set  in,  and  there  were  wan  glimmerings 
of  sunshine  across  the  sea  and  the  solitary  shores.  They 
remained  in  Loch  Maddy  but  a  single  day  ;  and  then,  still 
favoured  by  a  brisk  north-east  breeze,  made  their  way 
through  the  Sound  of  Harris,  and  got  to  leeward  of  the 
conjoint  island  of  Harris  and  Lewis.  There,  indeed,  were 
the  great  mountains  which  Lavender  had  seen  many  a  time 
from  the  north  ;  and  now  they  were  close  at  hand,  and 
dark,  and  forbidding.  The  days  were  brief  at  this  time, 
and  they  were  glad  to  put  into  Loch  Resort,  which  Lavender 
had  once  visited  in  company  with  old  Mackenzie,  when  they 
had  come  into  the  neighbourhood  on  a  salmon-fishing 
excursion. 

The  Phoebe  was  at  her  anchorage  ;  the  clatter  on  deck 
over  ;  and  Johnny  came  below  to  see  what  sort  of  repast 
could  be  got  for  the  evening.  It  was  not  a  very  grand 
meal,  but  he  said — 

"  I  propose  that  we  have  a  bottle  of  champagne  to  cele- 
brate our  arrival  at  the  island  of  Lewis.  Did  you  ever  see 
anything  more  successfully  done  ?  And  now,  if  this  wind 
continues,  we  can  creep  up  to-morrow  to  Loch  Roag, 
Lavender,  if  you  would  like  to  have  a  look  at  it." 

For  a  moment  the  colour  forsook  Lavender's  face. 

"  No,  thank  you,  Johnny,"  he  was  about  to  say,  when  his 
friend  interrupted  him. 

"  Look  here,  Lavender  ;  I  know  you  would  like  to  see  the 
place,  and  you  can  do  it  easily  without  being  recognised. 
No  one  knows  me.  When  we  anchor  in  the  bay,  I  suppose 
Mr.  Mackenzie — as  is  the  hospitable  and  praiseworthy 
custom  of  these  parts — will  send  a  message  to  the  yacht  and 
ask  us  to  dine  with  him.  I,  at  any  rate,  can  go  up  and  call 
on  him,  and  make  excuses  for  you,  without  mentioning  your 
name  ;  and  then  I  could  tell  you,  you  know — 

Johnny  hesitated. 

"  Would  you  do  that  for  me,  Johnny  ?  "  Lavender  said. 
"  Well,  you  are  a  good  fellow." 

"  Oh,"  Johnny  said,  lightly,  "  it's  a  capital  adventure  for 
me  ;  and  perhaps  I  could  ask  Mackenzie — Mr.  Mackenzie,  I 
beg  your  pardon — to  let  me  have  two  or  three  clay  pipes, 
for  this  briar  root  is  rapidly  going  to  the  devil." 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "PH(EBE»  441 

"  He  will  give  you  anything  he  has  in  the  house  ;  you 
never  saw  such  a  hospitable  fellow,  Johnny.  But  you  must 
take  great  care  what  you  do." 

"  You  trust  to  me.  In  the  meantime,  let's  see  what  Pate 
knows  about  Loch  Roag." 

Johnny  called  down  his  skipper,  a  bluff,  short,  red-faced 
man,  who  presently  appeared,  his  cap  in  his  hand. 

••  \Vill  you  have  a  glass  of  champagne,  Pate  ?  " 

"  Oh,  ay,  sir,"  he  said,  not  very  eagerly. 

"  Would  you  rather  have  a  glass  of  whisky  ?  " 

"  Well,  sir,"  Pate  said,  in  accents  that  showed  that  his 
Highland  pronunciation  had  been  corrupted  by  many  years' 
residence  in  Greenock,  "  I  was  thinkin'  the  whisky  was  a 
wee  thing  better  for  ye  on  a  cauld  nicht." 

"  Here  you  are,  then.  Now,  tell  me,  do  you  know  Loch 
Roag  ? " 

"  Oh,  ay,  fine.  Many's  the  time  I  hiv  been  in  to  Borva- 
bost." 

"  But,"  said  Lavender,  "  do  you  know  the  Loch  itself  ? 
Do  you  know  the  bay  on  which  Mackenzie's  house  stands  ?  " 

"  Wc-el,  I'm  no  sae  sure  about  that,  sir.  But  if  ye  want 
to  gang  there,  we  can  pick  up  some  bit  body  at  Borvabost 
that  will  tak'  us  round." 

"  Well,"  Lavender  said,  "  I  think  I  can  tell  you  how  to 
go.  I  know  the  channel  is  quite  simple — and  once  you  are 
round  the  point  you  will  see  your  anchorage." 

"  It's  twa  or  three  years  since  I  was  there,  sir,"  Pate  re- 
marked, as  he  put  the  glass  back  on  the  table ;  "  I  mind 
there  was  a  daft  auld  man  there  that  played  the  pipes." 

"  That  was  old  John  the  Piper  !  "  Lavender  said.  "  Don't 
you  remember  .Mr.  Mackenzie,  whom  they  call  the  King  of 
Borva  ':  " 

"  Weel,  sir,  I  never  saw  him,  but  I  was  aware  he  was  in 
the  place.  I  have  never  been  up  here  afore  wi'  a  party  o' 
gentlemen,  and  he  wasna  coming  down  to  see  the  like  o'  us." 

With  what  a  strange  feeling  Lavender  beheld,  the  following 
afternoon,  the  opening  to  the  winding  Loch  that  he  knew  so 
well.  He  recognized  the  various  rocky  promontories,  the 
( iuelic  names  of  which  Sheila  had  translated  for  him.  Down 
there  in  the  south  were  the  great  heights  of  Suainabhal,  and 
Cracabhal,  and  Mealasabhal.  Right  in  front  was  the  sweep 


442  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

of  Borvabost  Bay,  and  its  lints,  and  its  small  garden  patches  ; 
and  up  beyond  it  was  the  hill  on  which  Sheila  used  to  sit  in 
the  evening,  to  watch  the  sun  go  down  behind  the  Atlantic. 
It  was  like  entering  again  a  world  with  which  he  had  once 
been  familiar,  and  in  which  he  had  left  behind  a  peaceful 
happiness  he  had  sought  in  vain  elsewhere.  Somehow,  as 
the  yacht  dipped  to  the  waves,  and  slowly  made  her  way 
into  the  loch,  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  was  coming  home — 
that  he  was  returning  to  the  old  and  quiet  joys  he  had 
experienced  there — that  all  the  past  time  that  had  darkened 
his  life  was  now  to  be  removed.  But  when,  at  last,  he  saw 
Mackenzie's  house  high  up  there  over  the  tiny  bay,  a  strange 
thrill  of  excitement  passed  through  him  ;  and  that  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  cold  feeling  of  despair,  which  he  did  not  seek  to 
remove. 

He  stood  in  the  companion,  his  head  only  being  visible, 
and  directed  Pate  until  the  Phoebe  had  arrived  at  her  anchor- 
age ;  and  then  he  went  below.  He  had  looked  wistfully  for 
a  time  towards  the  square,  dark  house,  with  its  scarlet  coping, 
in  the  vague  hope  of  seeing  some  figure  he  knew  ;  but  now, 
sick  at  heart,  and  fearing  that  Mackenzie  might  make  him 
out  with  a  telescope,  he  sat  down  in  the  cabin,  alone,  and 
silent. 

He  was  startled  by  the  sound  of  oars,  and  got  up  and 
listened.  Presently  Mosenberg  came  down  and  said — 

"  Mr.  Mackenzie  has  sent  a  tall,  thin  man — do  you  know 
him  ? — to  see  who  we  are,  and  whether  we  will  go  up  to  his 
house." 

"  What  did  Eyre  say  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.     I  suppose  he  is  going." 

Then  Johnny  himself  came  below.  He  was  a  sensitive 
young  fellow ;  and  at  this  moment  he  was  very  confused, 
excited,  and  nervous. 

"  Lavender,"  he  said,  stammering  somewhat,  "  I  am  going 
up  now  to  Mackenzie's  house.  You  know  whom  I  shall  see. 
Shall  I  take  any  message — if  I  see  a  chance — if  your  name 
is  mentioned — a  hint,  you  know " 

"  Tell  her,"  Lavender  said,  with  a  sudden  pallor  of  deter- 
mination in  his  face  :  but  he  stopped,  and  said,  abruptly, 
"  Never  mind,  Johnny.  Don't  say  anything  about  me." 

"  Not  to-night,  anyway,"  Johnny  said  to  himself,  as 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "PHOEBE"  443 

carefully  brushed  his  best  blue  jacket,  and  then  went  up  the 
companion  to  see  if  the  small  boat  was  ready. 

Johnny  had  had  a  good  deal  of  knocking  about  the  Western 
Highlands,  and  was  familiar  with  the  frank  and  ready  hospi- 
tality which  the  local  lairds — more  particularly  in  the  remote 
islands,  where  a  stranger  brought  recent  newspapers  and  a 
murmur  of  the  outer  world  with  him — granted  to  all  comers 
who  bore  with  them  the  credentials  of  owning  a  yacht.  But 
never  before  had  he  gone  up  to  a  strange  house  with  such 
perturbation  of  spirit.  He  had  been  so  anxious,  too,  that 
he  had  left  no  time  for  preparation.  When  he  started  up 
the  hill,  he  could  see,  in  the  gathering  dusk,  that  the  tall 
keeper  had  just  entered  the  house ;  and  when  he  arrived 
there,  he  found  absolutely  nobody  about  the  place. 

In  ordinary  circumstances  he  would  simply  have  walked 
in,  and  called  some  one  from  the  kitchen.  But  he  now  felt 
himself  somewhat  of  a  spy ;  and  was  not  a  little  afraid  of 
meeting  the  handsome  Mrs.  Lavender,  of  whom  he  had  heard 
so  much.  There  was  no  light  in  the  passage  ;  but  there  was 
a  bright-red  glow  in  one  of  the  windows ;  and,  almost  in- 
advertently, he  glanced  in  there.  What  was  this  strange  pic- 
ture he  saw  ?  The  crimson  flame  of  the  fire  showed  him  the 
grand  figures  on  the  walls  of  Sheila's  dining-room,  and  lit 
up  the  white  table-cover  and  the  crystal  in  the  middle  of  the 
apartment.  A  beautiful  young  girl,  clad  in  a  simple  blue 
dress,  had  just  risen  from  beside  the  fire  to  light  two  candles 
that  were  on  the  table  ;  and  then  she  went  back  to  her  seat, 
and  took  up  her  sewing,  but  not  to  sew.  For  Johnny  saw 
her  gently  kneel  down  beside  a  little  bassinet  that  was  a 
mass  of  wonderful  pink  and  white ;  and  he  supposed  the 
door  in  the  passage  was  open,  for  he  could  hear  a  low  voice 
humming  some  lullaby-song,  sung  by  the  young  mother  to 
her  child.  He  went  back  a  step,  bewildered  by  what  he  had 
seen.  Could  he  fly  down  to  the  shore,  and  bring  Lavender 
up  to  look  at  this  picture  through  the  window,  and  beg  of 
him  to  go  in  and  throw  himself  on  her  forgiveness  and 
mercy  ?  He  had  not  time  to  think  twice.  At  this  moment 
Mairi  appeared  in  the  dusky  passage,  looking  out  from  it  a 
little  scared,  although  she  did  not  drop  the  plates  she  carried. 

"  Oh,  sir,  and  are  you  the  gentleman  that  hass  come  in  the 
yat  ?  And,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  he  is  upstairs  just  now,  but  he 


444  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

will  be  down  ferry  soon ;  and  will  you  come  in  and  speak  to 
Miss  Sheila?" 

"  Miss  Sheila  ?  "  he  repeated  to  himself,  with  amazement ; 
and  the  next  moment  he  found  himself  before  this  beautiful 
young  girl,  apologizing  to  her,  stammering,  and  wishing  that 
he  had  never  undertaken  such  a  task,  while  he  knew  that  all 
the  time  she  was  regarding  him  with  her  large,  calm,  and 
gentle  eyes,  and  that  there  was  no  trace  of  embarrassment  in 
her  manner. 

"  Will  you  take  a  seat  by  the  fire  until  my  papa  comes 
down  ?  "  she  said.  "  We  are  very  glad  to  have  any  one  come 
to  see  us  ;  we  do  not  have  many  visitors  in  the  winter." 

"  But  I  am  afraid,"  he  stammered,  "  I  am  putting  you  to 

trouble "  and  he  glanced  at  the  swinging  pink  and  white 

couch. 

"  Oh,  no,"  Sheila  said,  with  a  smile,  "  I  was  just  about  to 
send  my  little  boy  to  bed." 

She  lifted  the  sleeping  child  and  rolled  it  in  some  enormous 
covering  of  white  and  silken-haired  fur,  and  gave  the  small 
bundle  to  Mairi  to  carry  to  Scarlett. 

"  Stop  a  bit  !  "  Johnny  called  out  to  Mairi ;  and  the  girl 
started  and  looked  round,  whereupon  he  said  to  Sheila,  with 
much  blushing,  "  Isn't  there  a  superstition  about  an  infant 
waking  to  find  silver  in  its  hand  ?  I  am  sure  you  wouldn't 
mind  my " 

"  He  cannot  hold  anything  yet,"  Sheila  said,  with  a  smile. 

"  Then,  Mairi,  you  must  put  this  below  his  pillow — is  not 
that  the  same  thing  for  luck  ?  "  he  said,  addressing  the  young 
Highland  girl  as  if  he  had  known  her  all  his  life  ;  and  Mairi 
went  away  proud  and  pleased  to  have  this  precious  bundle  to 
cany,  and  talking  to  it  with  a  thousand  soft  and  endearing 
phrases  in  her  native  tongue. 

Mackenzie  came  in,  and  found  the  two  conversing  together. 

"  How  do  you  do,  sir  ?  "  he  said,  with  a  grave  courtesy. 
"  You  are  ferry  welcome  to  the  island,  and  if  there  is  any- 
thing you  want  for  the  boat,  you  will  hef  it  from  us.  She  is 
a  little  thing  to  hef  come  so  far." 

"  She's  not  very  big,"  Johnny  said,  "  but  she's  a  thorough 
good  sailor  ;  and  then  we  watch  our  time,  you  know.  But  I 
don't  think  we  shall  go  further  north  than  Lewis." 

"  Hef  you  no  friends  on  board  with  you  ? "  Mackenzie  asked. 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "PHCEBE"  445 

"  Oh  yes,"  Johnny  answered  ;  "  two.  But  we  did  not  wish 
to  invade  your  house  in  a  body.  To-morrow 

"  To-morrow  !  "  said  Mackenzie,  impatiently.  "  No,  but 
to-night !  Duncan,  come  here  I  Duncan,  go  down  to  the 
boat  that  has  just  come  in  and  tell  the  gentlemen " 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,"  Johnny  cried,  "but  my  two 
friends  are  regularly  done  up — tired — they  were  just  going 
to  turn  in  when  I  left  the  yacht.  To-morrow,  now,  you  will 
see  them " 

"  Oh,  ferry  well,  ferry  well,"  said  Mackenzie,  who  had 
hoped  to  have  a  big  dinner-party  for  Sheila's  amusement. 
"  In  any  way,  you  will  stop  and  hef  some  dinner  ?  It  is  just 
ready — oh,  yes — and  it  is  not  a  very  fine  dinner  ;  but  it  will 
be  different  from  your  cabin  for  you  to  sit  ashore." 

"  Well,  if  you  will  excuse  me,"  Johnny  was  about  to  say, 
for  he  was  so  full  of  the  news  that  he  had  to  tell  that  he 
would  have  sacrificed  twenty  dinners  to  have  got  off  at  this 
moment.  But  Mr.  Mackenzie  would  take  no  denial.  An 
additional  cover  was  laid  for  the  stranger,  and  Johnny  sat 
down  to  stare  at  Sheila  in  a  furtive  way,  and  to  talk  to 
her  father  about  everything  that  was  happening  in  the  great 
world. 

"  And  what  now  is  this,"  said  Mackenzie,  with  a  lofty  and 
careless  air,  "  what  is  this  I  see  in  the  papers  about  pictures 
j  tainted  by  a  gentleman  called  Lavender  ?  I  hef  a  great 
interest  in  these  exhibitions  :  perhaps  you  hef  seen  the 
pictures  ?  " 

Johnny  blushed  very  red ;  but  he  hid  his  face  over  his 
plate  ;  and  presently  he  answered,  without  daring  to  look  at 
Sheila— 

"  I  should  think  I  have  seen  them  !  Why,  if  you  care  for 
coast  landscapes,  I  can  tell  you  you  never  saw  such  thorough 
good  work  all  your  life  !  Why,  everybody's  talking  of  them 
— you  never  heard  of  a  man  making  such  a  name  for  himself 
in  so  short  a  time." 

lie  ventured  to  look  up.  There  was  a  strange,  glad  light 
in  the  girl's  face  ;  and  the  effect  of  it  on  this  bearer  of  good 
tidings  was  to  make  him  launch  into  such  praises  of  these 
pictures  as  considerably  astonished  old  Mackenzie.  As  for 
Sheila,  she  was  proud  and  happy  ;  but  not  surprised.  She  had 
known  it  all  along.  She  had  waited  for  it  patiently  ;  and  it 


446  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

had  come  at  last,  although  she  was  not  to  share  in  his 
triumph. 

"  I  know  some  people  who  know  him,"  said  Johnny,  who 
had  taken  two  or  three  glasses  of  Mackenzie's  sherry,  and 
felt  bold  ;  "  and  what  a  shame  it  is  he  should  go  away  from 
all  his  friends  and  almost  cease  to  have  any  communication 
with  them.  And  then,  of  all  the  places  in  the  world  to 
spend  a  winter  in,  Jura  is  about  the  very " 

"  Jura ! "  said  Sheila,  quickly,  and  he  fancied  that  her 
face  paled  somewhat. 

"  I  believe  so,"  he  said ;  "  somewhere  on  the  western 
coast,  you  know,  over  the  Sound  of  Islay." 

Sheila  was  obviously  very  much  agitated  ;  but  her  father 
said  in  a  careless  way,  "  Oh  yes,  Jura  is  not  a  ferry  good 
place  in  the  Avinter.  And  the  west  side  you  said  ?  Ay, 
there  are  not  many  houses  on  the  west  side  ;  it  is  not  a 
ferry  good  place  to  live  in.  But  it  will  be  ferry  cheap, 
whatever." 

"  I  don't  think  that  is  the  reason  of  his  living  there," 
said  Johnny,  with  a  laugh. 

"But,"  Mackenzie  urged,  rather  anxiously,  "you  wass 
not  saying  he  would  get  much  for  these  pictures  ?  Oh  no, 
who  will  give  much  money  for  pictures  of  rocks  and 
seaweed  ?  Oh  no  !  " 

"  Oh,  won't  they,  though  ?  "  Johnny  cried.  "  They  give 
a  good  deal  more  for  that  sort  of  picture  now  than  for 
the  old-fashioned  story-subjects  taken  out  of  books — mere 
coloured  illustrations.  Don't  you  make  any  mistake  about 
that.  The  public  is  beginning  to  learn  what  real  good  work 
is,  and,  by  Jove,  don't  they  pay  for  it,  too  !  Lavender  got 
800Z.  for  the  smaller  of  the  two  pictures  I  told  you  about." 

Johnny  was  beginning  to  forget  that  the  knowledge  he  was 
showing  of  Frank  Lavender's  affairs  was  suspiciously  minute. 

"  Oh  no,  sir,"  Mackenzie  said,  with  a  frown.  "  It  is  all 
nonsense  the  stories  that  you  hear.  I  hef  had  great 
experience  of  these  exhibitions.  I  hef  been  to  London 
several  times,  and  every  time  I  wass  in  the  Exhibitions." 

"  But  I  should  know  something  of  it,  too  ;  for  I  am  ail 
artist  myself." 

"  And  do  you  get  800?.  for  a  small  picture  ?  "  Mackenzie 
asked,  severely. 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "PHCEBE*  447 

"  Well,  no,"  Johnny  said,  with  a  laugh.  "  But  then  I 
am  a  duffer." 

After  dinner,  Sheila  left  the  room ;  Johnny  fancied  he 
knew  where  she  was  going.  He  pulled  in  a  chair  to  the 
lire,  lit  his  pipe,  and  said  he  would  have  but  one  glass  of 
toddy,  which  Mackenzie  proceeded  to  make  for  him.  And 
then  he  said  to  the  old  King  of  Borva — 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir  ;  but  will  you  allow  me  to  suggest 
that  that  young  girl  who  was  in  here  before  dinner  should 
not  call  your  daughter  Miss  Sheila  before  strangers  ?  " 

"  Oh,  it  is  very  foolish  !  "  said  Mackenzie,  "  but  it  is  an 
old  habit,  and  they  will  not  stop  it.  And  Duncan,  he  is 
worse  than  anyone." 

"Duncan,  I  suppose,  is  the  tall  fellow  who  waited  at 
dinner  ?  " 

"  Oh  aye,  that  is  Duncan." 

Johnny's  ingenious  bit  of  stratagem  had  failed.  He 
wanted  to  have  old  Mackenzie  call  his  daughter  Mrs. 
Lavender,  so  that  he  might  have  had  occasion  to  open  the 
question  and  plead  for  his  friend.  But  the  old  man 
resolutely  ignored  the  relationship  between  Lavender  and 
his  daughter,  so  far  as  this  stranger  was  concerned  ;  and  so 
Johnny  had  to  go  away  partly  disappointed. 

But  another  opportunity  might  occur  ;  and  in  the  mean- 
time was  not  he  carrying  rare  news  down  to  the  /Vm<V'/ 
He  had  lingered  too  long  in  the  house  ;  but  now  he  made 
up  for  lost  time,  and  once  or  twice  nearly  missed  his  footing 
in  running  down  the  steep  path.  He  had  to  find  the  small 
boat  for  himself,  and  go  out  on  the  slippery  stones  and 
seaweed  to  get  into  her.  Then  he  pulled  away  from  the 
shore,  his  oars  striking  white  h're  into  the  dark  water,  the 
water  gurgling  at  the  bow.  Then  he  got  into  the  shadow 
of  the  black  hull  of  the  yacht,  and  Pate  was  there  at  the 
open  gangway. 

When  Johnny  stepped  on  deck,  he  paused,  in  considerable 
doubt  as  to  what  he  should  do.  He  wished  to  have  a  word 
with  Lavender  alone  ;  how  could  he  go  down  with  such  a 
message  as  he  had  to  deliver  to  a  couple  of  fellows  probably 
smoking  and  playing  chess  ? 

"  Pate,"  he  said,  "  tell  Mr.  Lavender  I  want  him  to  come 
on  deck  for  a  minute." 


448  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  He's  by  himsel',  sir,"  Pate  said.  "  He's  been  sitting  by 
Limsel'  for  the  last  hour.  The  young  gentleman's  lain 
doon." 

Johnny  went  down  into  the  little  cabin  ;  Lavender,  who 
had  neither  book,  nor  cigar,  nor  any  other  sign  of  occupation 
near  him,  seemed  in  his  painful  anxiety  almost  incapable  of 
asking  the  question  that  rose  to  his  lips. 

"  Have  you  seen  her,  Johnny  ?  "  he  said,  at  length,  with 
his  face  looking  strangely  careworn. 

Johnny  was  an  impressionable  young  fellow.  There  were 
tears  running  freely  down  his  cheeks,  as  he  said — ' 

"  Yes,  I  have,  Lavender  ;  and  she  was  rocking  a  child  in 
a  cradle." 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

REDESTTEGRATIO   AHORIS. 

THAT  same  night  Sheila  dreamed  a  strange  dream  ;  and  it 
seemed  to  her  that  an  angel  of  God  came  to  her,  and  stood 
before  her,  and  looked  at  her  with  his  shining  face  and  his 
sad  eyes.  And  he  said,  "  Are  you  a  woman,  and  yet  slow  to 
forgive  ?  Are  you  a  mother,  and  have  you  no  love  for  the 
father  of  your  child  ?  "  It  seemed  to  her  that  she  could  not 
answer.  She  fell  on  her  knees  before  him,  and  covered  her 
face  with  her  hands,  and  wept.  And  when  she  raised  her 
eyes  again,  the  angel  was  gone  ;  and  in  his  place  Ingram 
was  there,  stretching  out  his  hand  to  her,  and  bidding  her 
rise  and  be  comforted.  Yet  he,  too,  spoke  in  the  same 
reproachful  tones,  and  said — "  What  would  become  of  us  all, 
Sheila,  if  none  of  our  actions  were  to  be  atoned  for  by  time 
and  repentance  ?  What  would  become  of  us  if  we  could 
not  say,  at  some  particular  point  of  our  lives,  to  the  bygone 
time,  that  we  had  left  it,  with  all  its  errors,  and  blunders, 
and  follies,  behind  us,  and  would,  with  the  help  of  God, 
start  clear  on  a  new  sort  of  life  ?  What  would  it  be  if  there 
Avere  no  forget  fulness  for  any  of  us — no  kindly  veil  to  come 
down  and  shut  out  the  memory  of  what  we  have  done — if 
the  staring  record  were  to  be  kept  for  ever  before  our  eyes  ? 
And  you  are  a  woman,  Sheila — it  should  be  easy  for  you  to 
forgive,  and  to  encourage,  and  to  hope  for  better  things  of 


REDINTEGRA  TIO  AMORIS  449 

the  man  you  love.  Has  he  not  suffered  enough  ?  Have 
you  no  word  for  him  ?  " 

The  sound  of  her  sobbing  in  the  night-time  brought  her 
father  to  the  door.  He  tapped  at  the  door,  and  said  — 

"  What  is  the  matter,  Sheila  ?  " 

She  awoke  with  a  slight  cry  ;  and  he  went  into  the  room 
and  found  her  in  a  strangely  troubled  state,  her  hands  out- 
stretched to  him,  her  eyes  wet  and  wild. 

"  Papa,  I  have  been  very  cruel.  I  am  not  fit  to  live  any 
more.  There  is  no  woman  in  the  world  would  have  done 
what  I  have  done." 

"  Sheila  !  "  he  said,  "  you  hef  been  dreaming  again  about 
all  that  folly  and  nonsense.  Lie  down  like  a  good  lass. 
You  will  wake  the  boy  if  you  do  not  lie  down  and  go  to 
sleep  ;  and  to-morrow  we  will  pay  a  visit  to  the  yacht  that 
hass  come  in,  and  you  will  ask  the  gentleman  to  look  at  the 


"  Papa,"  she  said,  "  to-morrow  I  want  you  to  take  me  to 
Jura." 

"  To  Jura,  Sheila  ?  You  cannot  go  to  Jura  !  You  can- 
not leave  the  baby  with  Mairi,  Sheila." 

"  I  will  take  him  with  me,"  she  said. 

"  Oh,  it  is  not  possible  at  all,  Sheila.  But  I  will  go  to 
Jura.  Oh  yes,  I  will  go  to  Jura.  Indeed,  I  was  thinking 
last  night  that  I  would  go  to  Jura." 

"  Oh  no,  you  must  not  go,"  she  cried.  "  You  would 
s])o;ik  harshly  —  and  he  is  very  proud  —  and  we  should  never 
see  each  other  again.  Papa,  I  know  you  will  do  this  for  me 
—  you  will  let  me  go  -  " 

"  It  is  foolish  of  you,  Sheila,"  her  father  said,  "  to  think 
that  I  do  not  know  how  to  arrange;  such  a  thing  without 
making  a  quarrel  of  it.  But  you  will  see  all  about  it  in  the 
morning.  Just  now,  you  will  lie  down,  like  a  good  lass,  and 
go  to  sleep.  So  good  night,  Sheila,  and  do  not  think  of  it 
any  more  till  the  morning." 

She  thought  of  it  all  the  night  long,  however.  She 
thought  of  her  sailing  away  down  through  the  cold  wintry 
seas  to  search  that  solitary  coast.  Would  the  grey  dawn 
break  with  snow  ;  or  would  the  kindly  heavens  lend  her 
some  fair  sunlight  as  she  set  forth  on  her  lonely  quest  ? 
And  during  these  dark  horn's  she  accused  herself  of  being 

2  G 


4$o  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

hard  of  heart ;  and  blamed  herself,  indeed,  for  all  that  had 
happened  in  the  bygone  time.  Just  as  the  day  was  coming 
in  she  fell  asleep  ;  and  she  dreamed  that  she  went  to  the 
angel  whom  she  had  seen  before  ;  and  knelt  at  his  feet ;  and 
repeated  in  some  vague  way  the  promises  she  had  made  on 
her  marriage  morning.  With  her  head  bent  down,  she  said 
that  she  would  live  and  die  a  true  wife,  if  only  another 
chance  were  given  her.  The  angel  answered  nothing  ;  but 
he  smiled  with  his  sad  eyes  ;  and  put  his  hand  for  a  moment 
on  her  head  ;  and  then  disappeared.  When  she  woke  Mairi 
was  in  the  room,  silently  stealing  away  the  child  ;  and  the 
white  daylight  was  clear  in  the  windows. 

She  dressed  with  trembling  hands,  and  yet  there  was  a 
fahit  suffused  sense  of  joy  in  her  heart.  She  wondered  if 
her  father  would  keep  to  his  promise  of  the  night  before,  or 
whether  it  had  been  made  to  get  her  to  rest.  In  any  case, 
she  knew  that  he  could  not  refuse  her  much  ;  and  had  not 
he  himself  said  that  he  intended  going  away  down  to  Jura  ? 

"Sheila,  you  are  not  looking  well  this  morning,"  her 
father  said  ;  "  it  is  foolish  of  you  to  lie  awake  and  think  of 
such  things.  And  as  for  what  you  wass  saying  about  Jura, 
how  can  you  go  to  Jura  ?  We  hef  no  boat  big  enough  for 
that.  I  could  go — 'Oh  yes,  I  could  go — but  the  boat  I  would 
get  at  Stornoway  you  could  not  go  in  at  all,  Sheila  ;  and  as 
for  the  baby 

"  But  then,  Papa,"  she  said,  "  did  not  the  gentleman  who 
was  here  last  night  say  they  were  going  back  by  Jura  ? 
And  it  is  a  big  yacht ;  and  he  has  only  two  friends  on 
board.  He  might  take  us  down." 

"  You  cannot  ask  a  stranger,  Sheila.  Besides,  the  boat  is 
too  small  a  one  for  this  time  of  the  year.  I  should  not  like 
to  see  you  go  in  her,  Sheila." 

"  I  have  no  fear,"  the  girl  said. 

"  No  fear  !  "  her  father  said,  impatiently.  "  No,  of  course 
you  hef  no  fear — that  is  the  mischief.  You  will  take  no 
care  of  yourself  whatever." 

"  When  is  the  young  gentleman  coming  up  this  morning." 

"  Oh,  he  will  not  come  up  again  till  I  go  down.  Will 
you  go  down  to  the  yacht,  Sheila,  and  go  on  board  of  her  ?  " 

Sheila  assented  ;  and  some  half  hour  thereafter  she  stood 
at  the  door,  clad  in  her  tight-fitting  blue  serge,  with  the  hat 


REDINTEGRATIO  A  MORIS  451 

and  sea-gull's  wing  over  her  splendid  masses  of  hair.  It 
was  an  angry-looking  morning  enough  ;  rags  of  grey  cloud 
were  being  hurried  past  the  shoulders  of  Suainabhal ;  a 
heavy  surf  was  beating  on  the  shore. 

"  There  is  going  to  be  rain,  Sheila,"  her  father  said, 
smelling  the  moisture  in  the  keen  air.  "  Will  you  hef  your 
water-proof  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,"  she  said  ;  "  if  I  am  to  meet  strangers,  I  cannot 
wear  a  water-proof." 

The  sharp  wind  had  brought  back  the  colour  to  her 
cheeks ;  and  there  was  some  gladness  in  her  eyes.  She 
knew  she  might  have  a  fight  for  it,  before  she  could  persuade 
her  father  to  set  sail  in  this  strange  yacht ;  but  she  never 
doubted  for  a  moment — recollecting  the  gentle  face  and 
modest  manner  of  the  youthful  owner — that  he  would  be 
really  glad  to  do  her  a  service  ;  and  she  knew  that  her 
father's  opposition  would  give  way. 

"  Shall  we  take  Bras,  Papa  ?  " 

"  No,  no  !  "  her  father  said  ;  "  we  will  hef  to  go  in  a 
small  boat.  I  hope  you  will  not  get  wet,  Sheila — there  is  a 
good  breeze  on  the  water  this  morning." 

"  I  think  they  are  much  safer  in  here  than  going  round 
the  islands  just  at  present,"  Sheila  said. 

"  Ay,  you  are  right  there,  Sheila,"  her  father  said,  looking 
at  the  direction  of  the  wind.  "  They  got  in  in  ferry  good 
time.  And  they  may  hef  to  stay  here  for  a  while  before 
they  can  face  the  sea  again." 

"And  we  shall  become  very  great  friends  with  them, 
Pupa  ;  and  they  will  be  glad  to  take  us  to  Jura,"  she  said, 
with  a  smile ;  for  she  knew  there  was  not  much  of  the 
hospitality  of  Borvabost  bestowed  with  ulterior  motives. 

They  went  down  the  steep  path  to  the  bay,  where  the 
Phabe  was  lurching  and  heaving  in  the  rough  swell,  her 
bowsprit  sometimes  nearly  catching  the  crest  of  a  wave. 
No  one  was  on  deck.  How  were  they  to  get  on  board  ? 

"  They  can't  hear  you  in  this  wind,"  Sheila  said.  "  We 
will  have  to  haul  down  our  own  boat." 

And  that,  indeed,  they  had  to  do  ;  though  the  work  of 
getting  the  little  thing  down  the  beach  was  not  very  arduous 
for  a  man  of  Mackenzie's  build. 

"  lam  going  to  pull  you  out  to  the  yacht, Papa,"  Sheila  said. 

2  G  2 


452  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"Indeed,  you  will  do  no  such  thing,"  her  father  said, 
indignantly.  "  As  if  you  wass  a  fisherman's  lass,  and  the 
gentleman  wass  never  seeing  you  before  !  Sit  down  in  the 
stern,  Sheila,  and  hold  on  ferry  tight,  for  it  is  a  rough  water 
for  this  little  boat." 

They  had  almost  got  out  indeed  to  the  yacht  before  any- 
one was  aware  of  their  approach  ;  but  Pate  appeared  in  time 
to  seize  the  rope  that  Mackenzie  flung  him,  and,  with  a 
little  scrambling,  they  were  at  last  safely  on  board.  The 
noise  of  their  arrival,  however,  startled  Johnny  Eyre,  who 
was  lying  on  his  back  smoking  a  pipe  after  breakfast.  He 
jumped  up,  and  said  to  Mosenberg,  who  was  his  only  com- 
panion— 

"  Hillo  !  here's  this  old  gentleman  come  on  board.  He 
knows  you.  What's  to  be  done  ?  " 

"  Done  ?  "  said  the  boy,  with  a  moment's  hesitation  ;  and 
then  a  flush  of  resolve  sprang  into  his  face.  "  Ask  him  to 
come  down.  Yes  ;  I  will  speak  to  him,  and  tell  him  that 
Lavender  is  on  the  island.  Perhaps  he  meant  to  go  into 
the  house  ;  who  knows  ?  If  he  did  not,  let  us  make  him  !  " 

"  All  right,"  said  Johnny  ;  "  let's  go  a  buster." 

Then  he  called  up  the  companion  to  Pate,  to  send  the 
gentleman  below,  while  he  flung  a  few  things  aside,  to  make 
the  place  more  presentable.  Johnny  had  been  engaged,  a 
few  minutes  before,  in  sewing  a  button  on  a  woollen  shirt  ; 
and  that  article  of  attire  does  not  look  well  beside  a  break- 
fast-table. 

His  visitor  began  to  descend  the  narrow  wooden  steps  ; 
and  presently  Mackenzie  was  heard  to  say — 

"  Tek  great  care,  Sheila.     The  brass  is  ferry  slippery." 

"  Oh,  thunder  !  "  Jonny  said,  looking  to  Mosenberg. 

"  Good  morning,  Mr.  Eyre,"  said  the  old  King  of  Borva, 
stooping  to  get  into  the  cabin  ;  "  it  is  a  rough  day  you  are 
getting.  Sheila,  mind  your  head  till  you  have  passed  the 
door." 

Mackenzie  came  forward  to  shake  hands,  and  in  doing  so 
caught  sight  of  Mosenberg.  The  whole  truth  flashed  upon 
him  in  a  moment ;  and  he  instantaneously  turned  to  Sheila, 
and  said,  quickly —  "  Sheila,  go  up  on  deck  for  a  moment." 

But  she,  too,  had  seen  the  lad ;  and  she  came  forward, 
with  a  pale  face,  but  with  a  perfectly  self-possessed  manner, 


REDINTEGRATIO  A  MORIS  453 

and  said,  "  How  do  you  do  ?     It  is  a  surprise,  your  coming 
to  the  island  ;  but  you  often  used  to  talk  of  it." 

"  Yes,"  he  stammered,  as  he  shook  hands  with  her  and 
her  father,  "  I  often  wished  to  come  here.  What  a  wild  place 
it  is  !  And  have  you  lived  here,  Mrs.  Lavender,  all  the 
time  since  you  left  London  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  have." 

Mackenzie  was  getting  very  uneasy.  Every  moment  he 
expected  Lavender  would  enter  this  confined  little  cabin ; 
and  was  this  the  place  for  these  two  to  meet,  before  a  lot  of 
acquaintances  ? 

"  Sheila,"  he  said,  "  it  is  too  close  for  you  here,  and  I  am 
going  to  have  a  pipe  with  the  gentlemen.  Now  if  you  wass 
a  good  lass,  you  would  go  ashore  again,  and  go  up  to  the 
house,  and  say  to  Mairi  that  we  will  all  come  for  luncheon 
at  one  o'clock,  and  she  must  get  some  fish  up  from  Borva- 
bost.  Mr.  Eyre,  he  will  send  a  man  ashore  with  you  in  his 
own  boat,  that  is  bigger  than  mine,  and  you  will  show  him 
the  creek  to  put  into.  Now  go  away,  like  a  good  lass,  and 
we  will  be  up  ferry  soon — oh  yes,  we  will  be  up  directly  at 
the  house." 

"  I  am  sure,"  Sheila  said  to  Johnny  Eyre,  "  we  can  make 
you  more  comfortable  up  at  the  house  than  you  are  here, 
although  it  is  a  nice  little  cabin."  And  then  she  turned  to 
Mosenberg,  and  said,  "  And  we  have  a  great  many  things  to 
talk  about." 

"  Could  she  suspect  ? "  Johnny  asked  himself,  as  he 
escorted  her  to  the  boat,  and  pulled  her  in  himself  to  the 
shore.  Her  face  was  pale,  and  her  manner  a  trifle  formal  ; 
otherwise  she  showed  no  sign.  He  watched  her  go  along 
the  stones  till  she  reached  the  path  ;  then  he  pulled  out 
to  the  Phccle  again,  and  went  down  below  to  entertain  his 
host  of  the  previous  evening. 

Sheila  walked  slowly  up  the  rude  little  path,  taking 
little  heed  of  the  blustering  wind  and  the  hurrying  clouds. 
Her  eyes  were  bent  down  ;  her  face  was  pale.  When  she 
got  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  she  looked,  in  a  blank  sort  of  way, 
all  round  the  bleak  moorland  ;  but  probably  she  did  not 
expect  to  see  anyone  there.  Then  she  went,  with  rather  an 
uncertain  step,  into  the  house. 

She  glanced  into  the  room,  the  door  of  which  stood  open. 


454  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Her  husband  sate  there,  with  his  arms  outstretched  on  the 
table,  and  his  head  buried  in  his  hands.  He  did  not  hear 
her  approach,  her  footfall  was  so  light  ;  and  it  was  with  the 
same  silent  step  she  went  into  the  room,  and  knelt  down 
beside  him,  and  put  her  hands  and  face  on  his  knee,  and 
said  simply — 

"  I  beg  for  your  forgiveness." 

He  started  up  and  looked  at  her  as  though  she  were  some 
spirit,  and  his  own  face  was  haggard  and  strange. 

"  Sheila,"  he  said,  in  a  low  voice,  laying  his  hand  gently 
on  her  head,  "  it  is  I  who  ought  to  be  there,  and  you  know 
it.  But  I  cannot  meet  your  eyes.  I  am  not  going  to  ask 
for  your  forgiveness  just  yet — I  have  no  right  to  expect  it. 
All  I  want  is  this — if  you  will  let  me  come  and  see  you  just 
as  before  we  were  married — and  if  you  will  give  me  a 
chance  of  winning  your  consent  over  again — we  can  at 

least  be  friends  until  then But  why  do  you  cry,  Sheila  ? 

You  have  nothing  to  reproach  yourself  with." 

She  rose,  and  regarded  him  for  a  moment  with  her 
streaming  eyes  ;  and  then,  moved  by  the  passionate  entreaty 
of  her  face,  and  forgetting  altogether  the  separation  and 
time  of  trial  he  had  proposed,  he  caught  her  to  his  bosom, 
and  kissed  her  forehead  and  talked  soothingly  and  caress- 
ingly to  her,  as  if  she  were  a  child. 

"  I  cry,"  she  said,  "  because  I  am  happy — because  I 
believe  all  that  time  is  over — because  I  think  you  will  be 
kind  to  me.  And  I  will  try  to  be  a  good  wife  to  you  ;  and 
you  will  forgive  me  all  that  I  have  done." 

"  You  are  heaping  coals  of  tire  on  iny  head,  Sheila,"  he 
said,  humbly.  "  You  know  I  have  nothing  to  forgive.  As 
for  you — I  tell  you  I  have  no  right  to  expect  your  forgive- 
ness yet.  But  I  think  you  will  find  out  by  and  by  that  my 
repentance  is  not  a  mere  momentary  thing.  I  have  had  a 
long  time  to  think  over  what  has  happened — and  what  I 
lost  when  I  lost  you,  Sheila." 

"  But  you  have  found  me  again,"  the  girl  said,  pale  a 
little,  and  glad  to  sit  down  on  the  nearest  couch,  while  she 
held  his  hand  and  drew  him  towards  her.  "  And  now  I 
must  ask  you  for  one  thing." 

He  was  sitting  beside  her  ;  he  feared  no  longer  to  meet 
the  look  of  those  anxious,  meek,  affectionate  eyes. 


REDINTEGRA  TIO  AMOR1S  455 

"  This  is  it,"  she  said.  "  If  we  are  to  be  together,  not 
what  we  were,  but  something  quite  different  from  that,  will 
you  promise  me  never  to  say  one  word  about  what  is  past 
— to  shut  it  out  altogether — to  forget  it  ?  " 

"  I  cannot,  Sheila,"  he  said.  "  Am  I  to  have  no  chance 
of  telling  you  how  well  I  know  how  cruel  I  was  to  you — 
how  sorry  I  am  for  it  ?  " 

"  Xo,"  she  said  firmly.  "  If  you  have  some  things  to 
regret,  so  have  I ;  and  what  is  the  use  of  competing  with 
each  other  as  to  which  has  the  most  forgiveness  to  ask  for  ? 
Frank,  dear,  you  will  do  this  for  me  !  You  will  promise 
never  to  speak  one  word  about  that  time." 

How  earnest  the  beautiful,  sad  face  was  !  He  could  not 
withstand  the  entreaty  of  the  piteous  eyes.  He  said  to  her, 
abashed  by  the  great  love  that  she  showed,  and  hopeless  of 
making  other  reparation  than  obedience  to  her  generous 
wish — 

"  Let  it  be  so,  Sheila.  I  will  never  speak  a  word  about  it. 
You  will  see  otherwise  than  in  words  whether  I  forget  what 
is  past,  and  your  goodness  in  letting  it  go.  But,  Sheila," 
he  added  with  downcast  face,  "  Johnny  Eyre  was  here  last 

night — he  told  me "  He  had  to  say  no  more.  She  took 

his  hand,  and  led  him  gently  and  silently  out  of  the  room. 

Meanwhile  the  old  King  of  Borva  had  been  spending  a 
somewhat  anxious  time  down  in  the  cabin  of  the  Phoebe. 
Many  and  many  a  day  had  he  been  planning  a  method  by 
which  he  might  secure  a  meeting  between  Sheila  and  her 
husband  ;  and  now  it  had  all  come  about  without  his  aid, 
and  in  a  manner  which  rendered  him  unable  to  take  any 
precautions.  He  did  not  know  but  that  some  awkward 
accident  might  destroy  all  the  chances  of  the  affair.  He 
was  aware  that  Lavender  was  on  the  island.  He  had 
frankly  asked  young  Mosenberg  as  soon  as  Sheila  had  left 
the  yacht. 

"  Oh  yes,"  the  lad  said,  "  he  went  away  ashore  early  this 
morning.  I  begged  of  him  to  go  to  your  house  ;  he  did 
not  answer.  But  I  am  sure  he  will.  I  know  he  will." 

"  My  Kott ! "  Mackenzie  said.  "  And  he  has  been 
wandering  about  the  island  all  the  morning,  and  he  will  be 
ferry  faint  and  hungry  ;  and  a  man  is  neffer  in  a  good 


456  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

temper  then  for  making  up  a  quarrel.  If  I  had  known  this 
last  night,  I  could  hef  had  dinner  with  you  all  here  ;  and 
we  should  hef  given  him  a  good  glass  of  whisky  and  then 
it  wass  a  good  time  to  tek  him  up  to  the  house." 

"Oh,  you  may  depend  on  it,  Mr.  Mackenzie,"  Johnny 
Eyre  said,  "  that  Lavender  needs  no  stimulus  of  that  sort  to 
make  him  desire  a  reconciliation.  No,  I  should  think  not. 
He  has  done  nothing  but  brood  over  this  affair  ever  since 
he  left  London  ;  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  you 
scarcely  knew  him,  he  is  so  altered.  You  would  fancy  he 
had  lived  ten  years  in  the  time." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  Mackenzie  said,  not  listening  very  attentively, 
and  evidently  thinking  more  of  what  might  be  happening 
elsewhere ;  "  but  I  was  thinking,  gentlemen,  it  wass  time 
for  us  to  go  ashore,  and  go  up  to  the  house,  and  hef  some- 
thing to  eat." 

"  I  thought  you  said  one  o'clock  for  luncheon,  sir,"  young 
Mosenberg  said. 

"  One  o'clock  ?  "  Mackenzie  repeated,  impatiently  : 
"  who  the  teffle  can  wait  till  one  o'clock,  if  you  hef  been 
walking  about  an  island  since  the  daylight  with  nothing  to 
eat  or  drink  ?  " 

Mr.  Mackenzie  forgot  that  it  was  not  Lavender  he  had 
asked  to  lunch. 

"  Oh  yes,"  he  said,  "  Sheila  hass  had  plenty  of  time  to 
send  down  to  Borvabost  for  some  fish ;  and  by  the  time 
you  get  up  to  the  house,  you  will  see  that  it  is  ready." 

"  Very  well,"  Johnny  said,  "  we  can  go  up  to  the  house, 
any  way." 

He  Avent  up  the  companion,  and  he  had  scarcely  got  his 
head  above  the  level  of  the  rail  when  he  called  back — 

"  I  say,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  here  is  Lavender  on  the  beach, 
and  your  daughter  is  with  him.  Do  they  want  to  come  on 
board  do  you  think  ?  Or  do  they  want  us  to  go  ashore  ?  " 

Mackenzie  uttered  a  few  phrases  in  Gaelic,  and  got  up  on 
deck  instantly.  There,  sure  enough,  was  Sheila,  with  her 
hand  on  her  husband's  arm  ;  and  they  were  both  looking 
towards  the  yacht.  The  wind  was  blowing  too  strong  for 
them  to  call.  Mackenzie  wanted  himself  to  pull  in  for 
them  ;  but  this  was  overruled  ;  and  Pate  was  despatched. 

An  awkward  pause  ensued.      The  three  standing  on  deck 


REDINTEGRA  TIO  A  MORIS  457 

were  sorely  perplexed  as  to  the  forthcoming  interview,  and 
as  to  what  they  should  do.  "Were  they  to  rejoice  over  a 
reconciliation  :  or  ignore  the  fact  altogether,  and  simply 
treat  Sheila  as  Mrs.  Lavender  ?  Her  father,  indeed, 
fearing  that  Sheila  would  be  strangely  excited,  and  would 
probably  burst  into  tears,  wondered  what  he  could  get  to 
scold  her  about. 

Fortunately,  an  incident,  partly  ludicrous,  broke  the 
awkwardness  of  their  arrival.  The  getting  on  deck  was  a 
matter  of  some  little  difficulty  ;  in  the  scuffle  Sheila's  small 
hat  with  its  snow-white  feather  got  unloosed  somehow,  and 
the  next  minute  it  was  whirled  away  by  the  wind  into  the 
sea.  Pate  could  not  be  sent  after  it  just  at  the  moment, 
and  it  was  rapidly  drifting  away  to  leeward,  when  Johnny 
Eyre,  with  a  laugh  and  a  u  Here  goes  ! "  plunged  in  after 
the  white  feather  that  was  dipping  and  rising  on  the  waves 
like  a  sea-gull.  Sheila  uttered  a  slight  cry,  and  caught  her 
husband's  arm.  But  there  was  not  much  danger.  Johnny 
was  an  expert  swimmer  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  he  was  seen 
to  be  making  his  way  backward  with  one  arm,  while  in  the 
other  hand  he  held  Sheila's  hat.  Then  Pate  had  by  this 
time  got  the  small  boat  round  to  leeward  ;  and  very  shortly 
after  Johnny,  dripping  like  a  Newfoundland  dog,  came  on 
deck  and  presented  the  hat  to  Sheila,  amidst  a  vast  deal  of 
laughter. 

"  I  am  so  sorry,"  she  said  ;  "  but  you  must  change  your 
clothes  quickly — I  hope  you  will  have  no  harm  from  it." 

"  Not  I,"  he  said,  "  but  my  beautiful  white  decks  have 
got  rather  into  a  mess.  I  am  glad  you  saw  them  while  they 
were  dry,  Mrs.  Lavender.  Now  I  am  goiug  below  to  make 
myself  a  swell,  for  we're  all  going  to  have  luncheon  on 
shore,  ain't  we  ?  " 

Johnny  went  below  very  well  pleased  with  himself.  He 
had  called  her  Mrs.  Lavender  without  wincing.  He  had 
got  over  all  the  awkwardness  of  a  second  introduction  by  the 
happy  notion  of  plunging  after  the  hat.  He  had  to  confess, 
however,  that  the  temperature  of  the  sea  was  not  just  what 
he  could  have  preferred  for  a  morning  bath. 

By  and  by  he  made  his  appearance  in  his  smartest  suit, 
and  asked  Mrs.  Lavender  if  she  would  now  come  down  and 
see  the  saloon. 


458  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  I  think  you  want  a  good  glass  of  whisky,"  old  Mackenzie 
said,  as  they  all  went  below,  "  the  water  it  is  ferry  cold  just 
now." 

"  Yes,"  Johnny  said,  blushing,  "  we  shall  all  celebrate  the 
capture  of  the  hat." 

It  was  the  capture  of  the  hat,  then,  that  was  to  be 
celebrated  by  this  friendly  ceremony  ?  Perhaps  it  was  ;  but 
there  was  no  mirth  now  on  Sheila's  face. 

"  And  you  will  drink  first,  Sheila,"  her  father  said,  almost 
solemnly,  "  and  you  will  drink  to  your  husband's  health." 

Sheila  took  the  glass  of  raw  whisky  in  her  hand ;  and 
looked  round  timidly. 

"  I  cannot  drink  this,  Papa,"  she  said.  "  If  you  will  let 
me " 

"You  will  drink  that  glass  to  your  husband's  health, 
Sheila,"  old  Mackenzie  said,  with  unusual  severity. 

"  She  shall  do  nothing  of  the  sort  if  she  doesn't  like  it !  " 
Johnny  Eyre  cried,  suddenly — not  caring  whether  it  was 
the  wrath  of  old  Mackenzie  or  of  the  devil  that  he  was 
braving  ;  and  forthwith  he  took  the  glass  out  of  Sheila's 
hand,  and  threw  the  whisky  on  the  floor.  Then  he  pulled 
out  a  champagne  bottle  from  a  basket,  and  said,  "  This  is 
what  Mrs.  Lavender  will  drink." 

Mackenzie  looked  staggered  for  a  moment.  He  had 
never  been  so  braved  before.  But  he  was  not  in  a  quarrel- 
some mood  on  such  an  occasion ;  so  he  burst  into  a  loud 
laugh,  and  cried 

"  Well,  did  ever  any  man  see  the  like  o'  that  ?  Good 
whisky — ferry  good  whisky — and  flung  on  the  floor  as  if  it  was 
water ;  and  as  if  there  was  no  one  in  the  boat  that  would 
hef  drunk  it.  But  no  matter,  Mr.  Eyre,  no  matter  ;  the  lass 
will  drink  whatever  you  give  her,  for  she's  a  good  lass  ;  and 
if  we  hef  all  to  drink  champagne  that  is  no  matter  too  ;  but 
there  is  a  man  or  two  up  on  deck  that  would  not  like  to  know 
the  whisky  was  spoiled." 

"  Oh,"  Johnny  said,  "  there  is  still  a  drop  left  for  them. 
And  this  is  what  you  must  drink,  Mrs.  Lavender." 

Lavender  had  sat  down  in  a  corner  of  the  cabin,  his  eyes 
averted.  When  he  heard  Sheila's  name  mentioned  he  looked 
up,  and  she  came  forward  to  him.  She  said,  in  a  simple 
way,  "  I  drink  this  to  you,  my  dear  husband,"  and  at  the 


REDINTEGRATIO  AMORIS  459 

same  moment  the  old  King  of  Borva  came  forward  and  held 
out  his  hand,  and  said,  "  Yes  ;  and  by  Kott,  I  drink  to  your 
health,  too,  with  ferry  good  will." 

Lavender  started  to  his  feet. 

"  "Wait  a  bit,  Mr.  Mackenzie.  I  have  got  something  to 
say  to  yon  before  you  ought  to  shake  my  hand." 

But  Sheila  interposed  quickly.  She  grasped  his  arm,  and 
looked  into  his  face. 

"  You  will  keep  your  promise  to  me,"  she  said  ;  and  that 
was  an  end  of  the  matter.  The  two  men  shook  hands  : 
there  was  nothing  said  between  them,  then  or  thereafter,  of 
what  was  over  and  gone. 

They  had  a  pleasant  enough  luncheon  together,  up  in  that 
quaint  room,  with  the  Tyrolese  pictures  on  the  wall ;  and 
Duncan  for  once  respected  old  Mackenzie's  threats  as  to  what 
would  happen  if  he  called  Sheila  anything  but  Mrs.  Lavender 
before  these  strangers.  For  some  time  Lavender  sat  almost 
silent ;  and  answered  Sheila,  who  continuously  talked  to 
him,  in  little  else  than  monosyllables.  But  he  looked  at  her 
a  great  deal,  sometimes  in  a  wistful  sort  of  way,  as  if  he 
were  trying  to  recall  the  various  fancies  her  face  used  to 
produce  in  his  imagination. 

"  Why  do  you  look  at  me  so  ?  "  she  said  in  an  undertone. 

"  Because  I  have  made  a  new  friend,"  he  said. 

But  when  Mackenzie  began  to  talk  of  the  wonders  of  the 
island  and  the  seas  around  it,  and  to  beg  the  young  yachts- 
men to  prolong  their  stay,  Lavender  joined  with  a  will  in 
that  conversation,  and  added  his  entreaties. 

"  Then  you  are  going  to  stay  ? "  Johnny  Eyre  said, 
looking  up. 

"Oh,  yes,"  he  answered,  as  if  the  alternative  of  going 
back  with  them  had  not  presented  itself  to  him. 

"  For  one  thing,  I  have  got  to  look  out  for  a  place  where 
I  can  build  a  house.  That  is  what  I  mean  to  do  with  my 
savings  just  at  present ;  and  if  you  would  come  with  me, 
Johnny,  and  have  a  prowl  round  the  island,  to  find  out 
some  pretty  little  bay  with  a  good  anchorage  in  it — for 
you  know  I  am  going  to  steal  the  Maiyhdean-mhara  from 
Mr.  Mackenzie — then  we  can  begin  and  make  ourselves 
architects,  and  plan  out  the  place  that  is  to  be.  And  then 
some  day " 


460  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

Mackenzie  had  been  sitting  in  mute  astonishment ;  but 
he  suddenly  broke  in  upon  his  son-in-law. 

"  On  this  island  ?  No,  by  Kott,  you  will  not  do  that  ! 
On  this  island  ?  And  with  all  the  people  at  Stornoway  ? 
Hoots,  no,  that  will  neffer  do  ;  Sheila,  she  hass  no  one  to 
speak  to  on  this  island  as  a  young  lass  should  hef  ;  and  you 
— what  would  you  do  yourself  in  bad  weather  ?  But  there 
is  Stornoway — oh  yes,  that  is  a  fine  big  place  ;  and  many 
people  you  will  get  to  know  there  ;  and  you  will  hef  the  news- 
papers and  the  letters  at  once  ;  and  there  will  be  always 
boats  there,  that  you  can  go  to  Oban,  to  G-reenock,  to 
Glasgow — anywhere  in  the  world — whenever  you  hef  a  mind 
to  do  that ;  and  -then  when  you  go  to  London,  as  you 
will  hef  to  do  many  tunes,  there  will  be  plenty  there  to  look 
after  your  house  when  it  is  shut  up,  and  keep  the  rain  out, 
and  the  paint  and  the  paper  good,  more  as  could  be  done  on 
this  island !  Oh,  this  island  ! — how  would  you  live  on 
this  island  ?  " 

The  old  King  of  Borva  spoke  quite  impatiently  and  con- 
temptuously of  the  place.  You  would  have  thought  his  life 
on  this  island  was  a  species  of  penal  servitude  ;  and  that  he 
dwelt  in  his  solitary  house  only  to  think  with  a  vain  longing 
of  the  glories  and  delights  of  Stornoway.  Lavender  knew 
well  what  prompted  these  scornful  comments  on  Borva. 
The  old  man  was  afraid  that  the  island  would  really  be  too 
dull  for  Sheila  and  her  husband  ;  and  that,  whereas  the  easy 
compromise  of  Stornoway  might  be  practicable,  to  set  up 
house  in  Borva  might  lead  them  to  abandon  the  north 
altogether. 

"  From  what  I  have  heard  of  it  from  Mr.  Lavender," 
Johnny  said,  with  a  laugh,  "  I  don't  think  this  island  such  a 
dreadful  place  ;  and  I  am  hanged  if  I  have  found  it  so,  so 
far." 

"  But  you  will  know  nothing  about  it — nothing  Avhat- 
effer,"  said  Mackenzie,  petulantly.  "  You  do  not  know  the 
bad  weather,  when  you  cannot  go  down  the  loch  to 
Callernish  ;  and  you  might  hef  to  go  to  London  just  then." 

"  Well,  I  suppose  London  could  wait,"  Johnny  said. 

Mackenzie  began  to  get  angry  with  this  young  man. 

"  You  hef  not  been  to  Stornoway,"  he  said,  severely. 

"No,  I  haven't,"  Johnny  replied,  with  much  coolness, 


REDINTEGRATIO  A  MORIS  461 

"  and  I  don't  hanker  after  it.  I  get  plenty  of  town  life  in 
London  ;  and  when  I  come  up  to  the  sea  and  the  islands  I'd 
rather  pitch  my  tent  with  you,  sir,  than  live  in  Stornoway." 

"Oh,  but  you  don't  know,  Johnny,  how  fine  a  place 
Stornoway  is,"  Lavender  said,  hastily,  for  he  saw  the  old 
man  was  beginning  to  get  vexed.  "  Stornoway  is  a  beautiful 
little  town,  and  it  is  on  the  sea,  too " 

"And  it  hass  fine  houses,  and  ferry  many  people,  and 
ferry  good  society,"  Mackenzie  added,  with  some  touch  of 
indignation. 

"But  you  see,  this  is  how  it  stands,  Mr.  Mackenzie," 
Lavender  put  in  humbly.  "  We  should  have  to  go  to 
London  from  time  to  time,  and  we  should  then  get  quite 
enough  of  city  life,  and  you  might  find  an  occasional  trip 
with  us  not  a  bad  thing.  But  up  here  I  should  have  to 
look  on  my  house  as  a  sort  of  work-shop.  Now,  with  all 
respect  to  Stornoway,  you  must  admit  that  the  coast  about 
here  is  a  little  more  picturesque.  Besides,  there's  another 
thing.  It  would  be  rather  more  difficult  at  Stornoway  to  take 
a  rod  or  a  gun  out  of  a  morning.  Then  there  would  be 
callers,  bothering  you  at  your  work.  Then  Sheila  would 
have  far  less  liberty  in  going  about  by  herself." 

"  Eighthly  and  tenthly,  you've  made  up  your  mind  to 
have  a  house  here,"  cried  Johnny  Eyre  with  a  loud  laugh. 

"  Sheila  says  she  would  like  to  have  a  billiard  room,"  her 
husband  continued.  "  Where  could  you  get  that  in 
Stornoway  ?  " 

"  And  you  must  have  a  large  room  for  a  piano  to  sing 
in,  and  play  in,"  the  young  Jew-boy  said,  looking  at  Sheila. 

"I  should  think  a  one-storeyed  house,  with  a  large 
verandah,  would  be  the  best  sort  of  thing,"  Lavender  said, 
"  both  for  the  sun  and  the  rain  ;  and  then  one  could  have 
one's  easel  outside,  you  know.  Suppose  we  all  go  for  a  walk 
round  the  shore  by-and-by  ;  there  is  too  much  of  a  breeze 
to  take  the  Plmbe  down  the  loch." 

So  the  King  of  Borva  was  quietly  overruled,  and  his 
dominions  invaded  in  spite  of  himself.  Sheila  could  not  go 
out  with  the  gentlemen  just  then  ;  she  was  to  follow  in  about 
an  hour's  time  ;  meanwhile  they  buttoned  their  coats,  pulled 
down  their  caps  tight,  and  set  out  to  face  the  grey  skies  and 
the  wintry  wind.  Just  as  they  were  passing  away  from  the 


462  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

house,  Mackenzie  who  was  walking  in  front  with  Lavender, 
said,  in  cautious  sort  of  way • 

"  You  will  want  a  deal  of  money  to  build  this  house  you 
wass  speaking  about — for  it  will  hef  to  be  all  stone  and  iron, 
and  ferry  strong,  or  else  it  will  be  a  plague  to  you  from  the 
one  year  to  the  next  with  the  rain  getting  in." 

"  Oh  yes,"  Lavender  said,  "  it  will  have  to  be  done  well 
once  for  all ;  and  what  with  rooms  big  enough  to  paint  in, 
and  play  billiards  in,  and  also  a  bed-room  or  two  for  friends 
who  may  come  to  stay  with  us,  it  will  be  an  expensive 
business.  But  I  have  been  very  lucky,  Mr.  Mackenzie.  It 
isn't  the  money  I  have,  but  the  commissions  I  am  offered, 
that  warrant  me  going  in  for  this  house.  I'll  tell  you  about 
all  these  things  afterwards.  In  the  meantime  I  shall  have 
2,400/.,  or  thereabouts  in  a  couple  of  months." 

"  But  you  hef  more  than  that  now,"  Mackenzie  said, 
gravely.  "  This  is  what  I  wass  going  to  tell  you.  The 
money  that  your  aunt  left,  that  is  yours,  every  penny  of  it 
— oh  yes,  every  penny  and  every  farthing  of  it  is  yours, 
sure  enough.  For  it  wass  Mr.  Ingram  hass  told  me  all 
about  it ;  and  the  old  lady,  she  wanted  him  to  take  care  of 
the  money  for  Sheila  ;  but  what,  wass  the  good  of  the  money 
to  Sheila  ?  My  lass,  she  will  hef  plenty  of  money  of  her 
own ;  and  I  wanted  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  what  Mr. 
Ingram  said — but  it  wass  all  no  use,  and  there  iss  the 
money  now  for  you  and  for  Sheila,  every  penny  and  every 
farthing  of  it." 

Mackenzie  ended  by  talking  in  an  injured  way,  as  if  this 
business  had  seriously  increased  his  troubles. 

"  But  you  know,"  Lavender  said  with  amazement,  "  you 
know  as  well  as  I  do  that  this  money  was  definitely  left  to 
Ingram  ;  and — you  may  believe  me  or  not — I  was  precious 
glad  of  it  when  I  heard  it.  Of  course  it  would  have  been 
of  more  use  to  him  if  he  had  not  been  about  to  marry  this 
American  lady " 

"  Oh,  you  hef  heard  that,  then  ?  "  Mackenzie  said. 

"  Mosenberg  brought  me  the  news.  But  are  you  quite 
sure  about  this  affair  ?  Don't  you  think  this  is  merely  a 
trick  of  Ingram's,  to  enable  him  to  give  the  money  to 
Sheila  ?  That  would  be  very  like  him.  I  know  him  of 
old." 


REDINTEGRATIO  A  MORIS  463 

"Well,  I  cannot  help  it  if  a  man  will  tell  lies,"  said 
Mackenzie.  "  But  that  is  what  he  says  is  true.  And  he 
will  not  touch  the  money ;  indeed,  he  will  hef  plenty,  as 
you  say ;  but  there  it  is  for  Sheila  and  you ;  and  you  will 
be  able  to  build  whatever  house  you  like.  And  if  you  wass 
thinking  of  having  a  bigger  boat  than  the  Haiyhdean- 
mhara "  the  old  man  suggested. 

Lavender  jumped  at  that  notion  directly. 

"  What  if  we  could  get  a  yacht  big  enough  to  cruise 
anywhere  in  the  summer  months  ?  "  he  said.  "  We  might 
bring  a  party  of  people  all  the  way  from  the  Thames  to 
Loch  Roag,  and  cast  anchor  opposite  Sheila's  house.  Fancy 
Ingram  and  his  wife  coming  up  like  that  in  the  autumn  : 
and  I  know  you  could  go  over  to  Sir  James  and  get  us  some 
shooting." 

Mackenzie  laughed  grimly. 

"  We  will  see,  we  will  see  about  that.  I  think  there  will 
be  no  great  difficulty  about  getting  a  deer  or  two  for  you  ; 
and  as  for  the  salmon,  there  will  be  one  or  two  left  in  the 
White  Water — oh  yes,  we  will  hef  a  little  shooting  and  a 
little  fishing  for  any  of  your  friends.  And  as  for  the  boat, 
it  will  be  ferry  difficult  to  get  a  good  big  boat  for  such  a 
purpose,  without  you  wass  planning  and  building  one  your- 
self ;  and  that  will  be  better,  I  think  ;  for  the  yachts 
now-a-days  they  are  all  built  for  the  racing,  and  you  will 
hef  a  boat  fifty  tons,  sixty  tons,  seventy  tons,  that  hass  no 
room  in  her  below,  but  is  nothing  but  a  big  heap  of  canvas 
and  spars.  But  if  you  wass  wanting  a  good,  steady  boat, 
witli  good  cabins  below  for  the  leddies,  and  a  good  saloon 
that  you  could  have  your  dinner  in  all  at  once,  then  you 
will  maybe  come  down  with  me  to  a  shipbuilder  I  know  in 
Glasgow — oh,  he  is  a  ferry  good  man — and  we  will  see  what 
can  be  done.  There  is  a  gentleman  now  in  Dunoon — and 
they  say  he  is  a  ferry  great  artist  too — and  he  hass  a 
schooner  of  sixty  tons  that  I  hef  been  in  myself,  and  it 
wass  just  like  a  steamer  below  for  the  comfort  of  it.  And 
when  the  boat  is  ready,  I  will  get  you  ferry  good  sailors  for 
her,  that  will  know  every  bit  of  the  coast  from  Loch  Indaal 
to  the  Butt  of  Lewis,  and  I  will  see  that  they  are  ferry 
cheap  for  you,  for  I  hef  plenty  of  work  for  them  in  the 
winter.  But  I  wass  not  saying  yet,"  the  old  man  added, 


464  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  that  you  were  right  about  coming  to  live  in  Borva. 
Stornoway  is  a  good  place  to  live  in  ;  and  it  is  a  fine 
harbour  for  repairs,  if  the  boat  was  wanting  repairs " 

"  If  she  were,  couldn't  we  send  her  round  to  Stornoway  ?  " 

"  But  the  people  in  Stornoway — it  iss  the  people  in 
Stornoway,"  said  Mackenzie,  who  was  not  going  to  give  in 
without  a  grumble. 

Well,  they  did  not  fix  on  a  site  for  the  house  that  after- 
noon. Sheila  did  not  make  her  appearance.  Lavender  kept 
continually  turning  and  looking  over  the  long  undulations 
of  rock  and  moorland  ;  and  at  length  he  said — 

"  Look  here,  Johnny,  would  you  mind  going  on  by 
yourselves  ?  I  think  I  shall  walk  back  to  the  house." 

"  What  is  keeping  that  foolish  girl  ?  "  her  father  said, 
impatiently.  "  It  is  something  about  the  dinner,  now,  as  if 
any  one  wass  particular  about  a  dinner  in  an  island  like 
this,  where  you  can  expect  nothing.  But  at  Stornoway — 
oh  yes,  they  hef  many  things  there." 

"  But  I  want  you  to  come  and  dine  with  us  on  board  the 
Phmbe  to-night,  sir,"  Johnny  said.  "It  will  be  rather  a 
lark,  mind  you  ;  we  make  up  a  tight  fit  in  that  small  saloon. 
I  wonder  if  Mrs.  Lavender  would  venture  ;  do  you  think 
she  would,  sir  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  not  this  evening,  any  way,"  said  her  father  ; 
"  for  I  know  she  will  expect  you  all  to  be  put  up  at  the 
house  this  evening  ;  and  what  would  be  the  use  of  tumbling 
about  in  the  bay  when  you  can  be  in  a  house  ?  But  it  is 
ferry  kind  of  you — oh  yes,  to-morrow  night,  then  we  will  go 
down  to  the  boat — but  this  night,  I  know  Sheila  will  be 
ferry  sorry  if  you  do  not  come  to  the  house." 

"  Well,  let's  go  back  now,"  Johnny  said,  "  and  if  we've 
time,  we  might  go  down  for  our  guns  and  have  a  try  along 
the  shore  for  an  hour  or  so  before  the  daylight  goes.  Fancy 
that  chance  at  those  wild  duck  !  " 

"  Oh,  but  that  is  nothing,"  Mackenzie  said,  "  to-morrow 
you  will  come  with  me  up  to  the  loch,  and  there  you  will 
hef  some  shooting  ;  and  in  many  other  places  I  will  show 
you,  you  will  hef  plenty  of  shooting." 

They  had  just  got  back  to  the  house  when  they  found 
Sheila  coming  out.  She  had,  as  her  father  supposed,  been 
detained  by  her  preparations  for  entertaining  their  guests  ; 


REDINTEGRATIO  A  MORIS  465 

but  now  she  was  free  until  dinner-time  ;  and  so  the  whole 
party  went  down  to  the  shore  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Phoebe, 
and  let  Mackenzie  have  a  look  at  the  guns  on  board.  Then 
they  went  up  to  the  house,  and  found  the  tall  and  grim 
keeper  with  the  baby  in  his  arms,  while  Scarlett  and  Mairi 
were  putting  the  finishing  touches  on  the  gleaming  white 
table  and  its  show  of  steel  and  crystal. 

How  strange  it  was  to  Sheila  to  sit  at  dinner  there,  and 
listen  to  her  husband  talking  of  boating  and  fishing  and 
what  not  as  he  used  to  sit  and  talk  iii  the  olden  time  to  her 
father,  on  the  summer  evenings,  on  the  high  rocks  over 
Borvabost.  The  interval  between  that  time  and  this  seemed 
to  go  clean  out  of  her  mind.  And  yet  there  must  have 
been  some  interval  ;  for  he  was  looking  older,  and  sterner, 
and  much  rougher  about  the  face  now,  after  being  buffeted 
by  wind  and  rain  during  that  long  and  solitary  stay  in 
Jura.  But  it  was  very  like  the  old  times  when  they  went 
into  the  little  drawing-room,  and  when  Mairi  brought  in 
the  hot  water,  and  the  whisky,  the  tobacco,  and  the  long 
pipes  ;  when  the  old  King  of  Borva  sate  himself  down  in 
his  great  chair  by  the  table,  and  when  Lavender  came  to 
Sheila,  and  asked  her  if  he  should  get  out  her  music,  and 
open  the  piano  for  her. 

"  Madame,"  young  Mosenberg  said  to  her,  "  it  is  a  long 
time  since  I  heard  one  of  your  strange  Gaelic  songs." 

"  Perhaps  you  never  heard  this  one,"  Sheila  said,  and  she 
began  to  sing  the  plaintive  "  Farewell  to  Glenshalloch." 
Many  a  time,  indeed,  of  late  had  she  sung  its  simple  and 
pathetic  air  as  a  sort  of  lullaby ;  perhaps  because  it  was 
gentle,  monotonous,  and  melancholy,  perhaps  because  there 
were  lines  here  and  there  that  she  liked.  Many  a  time  had 
she  sung — 

'  Sleep  sound,  my  sweet  babe,  there  is  nought  to  alarm  thee, 
The  sons  of  the  valley  no  power  have  to  harm  thee  I 
I'll  sing  thee  to  rest  in  the  balloch  untrodden, 
With  a  coronach  sad  for  the  slain  of  Culloden.' 

But  long  before  she  had  reached  the  end  of  it  her  father's 
patience  gave  way,  and  he  said — 

"  Sheila,  we  will  hef  no  more  of  those  teffles  of  songs  1 
"We  will  hef  a  good  song  ;  and  there  is  more  than  one  of 

2  H 


466  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

the  gentlemen  can  sing  a  good  song  ;  and  we  do  not  wish 
to  be  always  crying  over  the  sorrows  of  other  people.  Now 
be  a  good  lass,  Sheila,  and  sing  us  a  good  cheerful  song." 

And  Sheila,  with  great  good-nature,  suddenly  struck  a 
different  key,  and  sang,  with  a  spirit  that  delighted  the  old 
man — 

'Tho  standard  on  the  braes  o'  Mar, 

Is  up  and  streaming  rarely ! 
The  gathering  pipe  on  Lochnagar, 

Is  sounding  lang  and  clearly  ! 
The  Highlandmen,  from  hill  and  glen, 
In  martial  hue,  with  bonnets  blue, 
Wi'  belted  plaids,  and  burnished  blades, 

Are  coming  late  and  early ! ' 

"  Now  that  is  a  better  kind  of  song — that  is  a  teffle  of  a 
good  song ! "  Mackenzie  cried,  keeping  time  to  the  music 
with  his  right  foot,  as  if  he  were  a  piper  playing  in  front 
of  his  regiment.  "  Wass  there  anything  like  that  in  your 
country,  Mr.  Mosenberg  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  sir,"  said  the  lad,  meekly  ;  "  but  if  you 
like  I  will  sing  you  one  or  two  of  our  soldiers'  songs.  They 
have  plenty  of  fire  in  them,  I  think." 

Certainly,  Mackenzie  had  a  sufficiency  of  brilliant,  and 
cheerful,  and  stirring  music  that  evening ;  but  that  which 
pleased  him  most,  doubtless,  was  to  see — as  all  the  world 
could  see — the  happiness  of  his  good  lass.  Sheila,  proud 
and  glad,  with  a  light  on  her  face  that  had  not  been  there 
for  many  a  day,  wanted  to  do  everything  at  once  to  please 
and  to  amuse  her  guests,  and  most  of  all  to  wait  upon  her 
husband ;  and  Lavender  was  so  abashed  by  her  sweet 
service  and  her  simple  ways  that  he  could  show  his  gratitude 
only  by  some  furtive  and  kindly  touch  of  the  hand  as  Sheila 
passed.  It  seemed  to  him  she  had  never  looked  so  beautiful 
and  never,  indeed,  since  they  left  Stornoway  together,  had 
he  heard  her  quiet  low  laugh  so  full  of  enjoyment.  What 
had  he  done,  he  asked  himself,  to  deserve  her  confidence  ? — 
for  it  was  the  hope  in  her  proud  and  gentle  eyes  that  gave 
that  radiant  brightness  to  her  face.  He  did  not  know.  He 
could  not  answer.  Perhaps  the  forgiveness  she  had  so 
freely  and  frankly  tendered,  and  the  assurance  she  now  so 
clearly  showed  in  him  sprang  from  no  judgment  or  argument, 


THE  PRINCESS  SHEILA  467 

but  were  only  the  natural  fruit  of  an  abounding  and  generous 
love.  More  than  once  that  night  he  wished  that  Sheila  could 
read  the  next  half-dozen  years  as  though  in  some  prophetic 
scroll,  that  he  might  show  her  how  he  would  endeavour  to 
prove  himself  if  not  worthy — for  he  could  scarcely  hope  that 
— at  least  conscious  of  her  great  and  unselfish  affection,  and 
as  grateful  for  it  as  a  man  could  be. 

They  pushed  their  enjoyment  to  such  a  late  hour  of  the 
night  that  when  they  discovered  what  tune  it  was, 
Mackenzie  would  not  allow  one  of  them  to  venture  out  into 
the  dark  to  find  the  path  down  to  the  yacht ;  and  Duncan 
and  Scarlett  were  forthwith  called  on  to  provide  the  belated 
guests  with  some  more  or  less  haphazard  sleeping  accom- 
modation. 

"  Mr.  Mackenzie,"  said  Johnny,  "  I  don't  mind  a  bit  if 
I  sleep  on  the  floor.  I've  just  had  the  jolliest  night  I  ever 
spent  in  my  life.  Mosenberg,  you'll  have  to  take  the 
Phaibt  back  to  Greenock  by  yourself.  I  shall  never 
leave  Borva  any  more." 

"  You  will  be  sober  in  the  morning,  Mr.  Eyre,"  young 
Mosenberg  said  ;  but  the  remark  was  unjust ;  for  Johnny's 
enthusiasm  had  not  been  produced  by  the  old  King's 
whisky,  potent  as  that  was. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE    PRINCESS   SHEILA. 

"  I  SHOULD  like,"  said  Mrs.  Edward  Ingram,  sitting  down 
and  contentedly  folding  her  hands  in  her  lap  "  I  should 
so  much  like,  Edward,  to  have  my  own  way  for  once — it 
would  be  so  novel  and  so  nice." 

Her  husband  was  busy  with  a  whole  lot  of  plans  all 
stretched  out  before  him,  and  with  a  pipe  which  he  had 
some  difficulty  in  keeping  alight.  He  did  not  even  turn 
round  as  he  answered — 

"  You  have  your  own  way  always.  But  you  can't  expect 
to  have  mine  as  well,  you  know." 

"Do  you  remember,"  she  said,  slowly,  "anything  your 
friend  Sheila  told  you  about  your  rudeness  to  people  ?  I 

2  H  2 


463  A  PRINCESS  Of  THULE 

wish,  Edward,  you  would  leave  those  ragged  children  and 
their  school-houses  for  three  minutes.  Do !  I  so  much 
want  to  see  some  places  when  we  go  to  Scotland ;  for 
who  knows  when  we  may  be  there  again  ?  I  have  set 
my  heart  on  the  Braes  of  Yarrow.  And  Loch  Awe  by 
moonlight.  And  the  Pass  of  Glencoe " 

"  My  dear  child,"  he  said,  at  last  turning  round  in  his 
chair,  "  how  can  we  go  to  those  places  ?  Sheila  says  Oban 
on  the  fifteenth." 

"  But  what  Sheila  says  isn't  an  Act  of  Parliament,"  said 
the  young  American  lady,  plaintively  and  patiently.  "  Why 
should  you  regulate  all  your  movements  by  her  ?  You  are 
always  looking  to  the  north — you  are  like  the  spires  of  the 
churches  that  are  said  to  be  always  telling  us  that  heaven  is 
close  by  the  Pole  Star." 

"  The  information  is  inaccurate,  my  dear,"  Ingram  said, 
looking  at  his  pipe  ;  "  for  the  spires  of  the  churches  on  the 
other  side  of  the  world  point  in  precisely  the  opposite 
direction.  However,  that  does  not  matter.  How  do  you 
propose  rampaging  all  over  Scotland  and  still  reaching 
Oban  on  the  fifteenth  ?  " 

"Telegraph  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lavender  to  come  on  to 
Edinburgh,  and  leave  the  trip  to  Lewis  until  we  have  seen 
those  places.  For,  once  we  have  got  to  that  wild  island, 
who  knows  when  we  shall  return  ?  Now  do,  like  a  good 
boy.  You  know  this  new  house  of  theirs  will  be  all  the 
drier  in  a  month's  time.  And  their  yacht  will  be  all  the 
more  ship-shape.  And  both  Sheila  and  her  husband  will 
be  the  better  of  coming  down  among  civilized  folks  for  a 
few  weeks'  time — especially  just  now,  when  numbers  of 
their  friends  must  be  in  the  Highlands — and  of  course  you 
get  better  attention  at  the  hotels  when  the  season  is  going 
on,  and  they  have  every  preparation  made — and  I  am  told 
the  heather  and  fern  on  the  hills  look  very  fine  in  August 
— and  I  am  sure  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lavender  will  enjoy  it  very 
much,  if  we  get  a  carriage  somewhere  and  leave  the  rail- 
ways altogether,  and  drive  by  ourselves  ah1  through  the 
prettiest  districts." 

She  wished  to  see  the  effect  of  her  eloquence  on  him.  It 
was  peculiar.  He  put  his  pipe  down  and  gravely  repeated 
these  lines,  with  which  she  was  abundantly  familiar — 


THE  PRINCESS  SHEILA  469 

"  Scz  Vather  to  I,  '  Jack,  rin  arter  him  du ! ' 
Sez  I  to  Vather,  '  I'm  darned  if  I  du ! ' " 

"  You  won't  ?  "  she  said. 

"The  proposal  comes  too  late.  How  can  you  expect 
Sheila  to  leave  her  new  house,  and  that  boy  of  hers  that 
occupies  three-fourths  of  her  letters,  just  at  this  time  ? 
I  think  it  was  very  kind  of  her,  mind  you,  to  come  away 
down  to  Oban  to  meet  us  ;  and  Lavender,  too,  is  giving  up 
the  time  out  of  the  best  working-season  of  the  year.  Bless 
you,  you  will  see  far  more  beautiful  things  as  we  go  from 
Oban  to  Lewis  than  any  you  have  mentioned.  For  we  shall 
probably  cut  down  by  Scarba  and  Jura  before  going  up  to 
Skye ;  and  then  you  will  see  the  coast  that  you  have 
admired  so  much  in  Lavender's  pictures." 

"  Is  the  yacht  a  large  one,  Edward  ? "  his  wife  asked 
somewhat  timidly. 

"  Oh,  big  enough  to  take  our  party  a  dozen  times  over." 

'•  Will  she  tumble  about  much,  do  you  think  ?  " 

"I  don't  know,"  Ingram  said,  with  an  unkindly  grin. 
"  But  as  you  are  a  weak  vessel,  Lavender  will  watch  the 
weather  for  you,  and  give  it  you  as  smooth  as  possible. 
Besides,  look  at  the  cleanliness  and  comfort  of  a  smart 
yacht !  You  are  thinking  of  one  of  those  Channel  steamers, 
with  their  engines  and  oil." 

"  Let  us  hope  for  the  best,"  said  his  wife,  with  a  sigh. 

They  not  only  hoped  for  it,  but  got  it.  When  they  left 
the  Crinan  and  got  on  board  the  big  steamer  that  was  to 
take  them  to  Oban,  all  around  them  lay  a  sea  of  soft  and 
shining  blue,  scarcely  marred  by  a  ripple.  Here  and  there 
sharp  rocks  that  rose  out  of  the  luminous  plain  seemed 
almost  black  ;  but  the  farther  islands  lay  soft  and  hazy  in 
the  heat ;  with  the  beautiful  colours  of  August  tinting  the 
distant  slopes  of  bracken  and  heather.  As  they  steamed 
northward  through  the  radiant  sea,  new  islands  and  new 
channels  appeared  until  they  came  in  sight  of  the  open 
Atlantic,  and  that,  too,  was  as  calm  and  as  still  as  a  summer 
night.  There  was  no  white  cloud  in  the  blue  vault  of  the 
sky  ;  there  was  no  crisp  curl  of  a  wave  on  the  blue  plain  of 
the  sea ;  but  everywhere  a  clear,  glowing,  salt-smelling 
atmosphere,  the  drowsy  haze  of  which  was  only  visible  when 


470  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

you  looked  at  the  distant  islands,  and  saw  the  fine  and 
pearly  veil  of  heat  that  was  drawn  over  the  soft  colours 
of  the  hills.  The  guillemots  dipped  and  disappeared  as 
the  big  boat  churned  its  way  onward.  A  white  solan, 
far  away  by  the  shores  of  Mull,  struck  the  water  as  he 
dived  and  sent  a  jet  of  spray  into  the  air.  Colonsay  and 
Oronsay  became  as  faint  clouds  on  the  southern  horizon  ; 
the  jagged  coast  of  Lome  drew  near.  And  then  they  went 
up  through  the  Sound  of  Kerrara;  and  steamed  into  the 
broad  and  beautiful  bay  of  Oban ;  and  behold !  here  was 
Sheila  on  the  pier,  already  waving  a  handkerchief  to  them, 
while  her  husband  held  her  arm,  lest  in  her  excitement  she 
should  go  too  near  the  edge  of  the  quay. 

"  And  where  is  the  yacht  that  we  have  heard  so  much 
of  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Kavanagh,  when  all  the  kissing  and  hand- 
shaking was  over. 

"  There  ! "  said  Sheila,  not  without  some  shame-faced 
pride,  pointing  to  a  shapely  schooner  that  lay  out  in  the 
bay,  with  her  white  decks  and  tall  spars  shining  in  the 
afternoon  sun. 

"  And  what  do  you  call  her  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Kavanagh's 
daughter. 

" "We  call  her  Princess  Sheila"  said  Lavender.  " What 
do  you  think  of  the  name  ?  " 

"  You  couldn't  have  got  a  better,"  Ingram  said,  senten- 
tiously,  and  interposing  as  if  it  was  not  within  his  wife's 
province  to  form  an  opinion  of  any  sort.  "  And  where  is 
your  father,  Sheila  ?  In  Borva  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  he  is  here,"  the  girl  said,  with  a  smile.  "  But 
the  truth  is,  he  has  driven  away  to  see  some  gentlemen  he 
knows,  to  ask  if  he  can  have  some  grouse  for  you.  He 
should  have  been  back  by  this  time." 

"  I  would  not  hurry  him,  Sheila,"  Ingram  said,  gravely. 
"  He  could  not  have  gone  on  a  more  admirable  errand.  We 
must  await  his  return  with  composure.  In  the  meantime, 
Lavender,  do  make  your  fellows  stop  that  man  :  he  is  taking 
away  my  wife's  trunk  to  some  hotel  or  other." 

The  business  of  getting  the  luggage  on  board  the  yacht 
was  entrusted  to  a  couple  of  men  whom  Lavender  left  on 
shore  ;  whereupon  the  newly-arrived  travellers  put  off  in  the 
gig  and  were  conveyed  to  the  side  of  the  handsome  schooner. 


THE  PRINCESS  SHEILA  471 

When  they  were  on  board,  an  eager  exploration  followed ; 
and  if  Sheila  could  only  have  undertaken  to  vouch  for  the 
smoothness  of  the  water  for  the  next  month,  Mrs.  Ingram 
was  ready  to  declare  that  at  last  she  had  discovered  the  most 
charming,  and  beautiful,  and  picturesque  fashion  of  living 
known  to  civilized  man.  She  was  delighted  with  the  little 
elegancies  of  the  state-rooms ;  she  was  delighted  with  the 
paintings  on  the  under  sky-lights,  which  had  been  done  by 
Lavender's  own  hand  ;  she  was  delighted  with  the  whiteness 
of  the  decks  and  the  height  of  the  tapering  spars  ;  and  she 
had  no  words  for  her  admiration  of  the  beautiful  sweep  of 
the  bay,  the  striking  ruins  of  the  old  castle  at  the  point,  the 
rugged  hills  rising  behind  the  white  houses,  and,  out  there  in 
the  west,  the  noble  panorama  of  mountain,  and  island,  and 
sea. 

"  I  am  afraid,  Mrs.  Ingram,"  Lavender  said,  "  you  will 
have  cause  to  know  Oban  before  we  leave  it.  There  is  not  a 
breath  of  wind  to  take  us  out  of  the  bay." 

"  I  am  content,"  she  said,  with  a  gracious  calm. 

"  But  we  must  get  you  up  to  Borva  somehow.  There  it 
would  not  matter  how  long  you  were  becalmed  ;  for  there  is 
plenty  to  see  about  the  island.  But  this  is  rather  ordinary, 
you  know." 

"  I  don't  think  so  at  all.  I  am  charmed  with  the  place," 
she  said.  "  And  so  are  you,  Edward." 

Ingram  laughed.  He  knew  she  was  daring  him  to  con- 
tradict her.  He  proposed  he  should  go  ashore  and  buy  a 
few  lines  with  which  they  might  fish  for  young  saithe  or 
lythe  over  the  side  of  the  yacht ;  but  this  project  was  stopped 
by  the  appearance  of  the  King  of  Borva,  who  bore  triumph- 
ant proof  of  the  success  of  his  mission  in  a  brace  of  grouse 
held  up  in  each  hand  as  a  small  boat  brought  him  out  to  the 
yacht. 

"  And  I  was  seeing  Mr.  Hutcheson,"  Mackenzie  said  to 
Lavender,  as  he  stepped  on  board  ;  "  and  he  is  a  ferry  good- 
natured  man  ;  and  he  says  if  there  is  no  wind  at  all  he  will 
let  one  of  his  steamers  take  the  yacht  up  to  Loch  Sunart, 
and  if  there  is  a  breeze  at  all  we  will  get  it  there." 

"  But  why  should  we  go  in  quest  of  a  breeze  ? "  Mrs. 
Ingram  said,  petulantly. 

"  Why,  mem,"  said  Mackenzie,  taking  the  matter  seriously, 


472  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  you  wass  not  thinking  we  could  sail  a  boat  without'  wind  ? 
But  I  am  not  sure  that  there  will  not  be  a  breeze  before 
night." 

Mackenzie  was  right.  As  the  evening  wore  on,  and  the  sun 
sank  in  the  west,  the  aspect  of  affairs  changed  somewhat, 
and  there  was  now  and  again  a  sort  of  shiver  apparent  on 
the  surface  of  the  lake-like  bay.  When,  indeed,  the  people 
on  board  came  up  on  deck  just  before  dinner,  they  found  a 
rather  thunderous-looking  sunset  spreading  over  the  sky. 
Into  the  clear  saffron  glory  of  the  western  heavens  some 
dark  and  massive  purple  clouds  had  crept.  The  mountains 
of  Mull  had  grown  light  and  milky  of  hue ;  and  yet  they 
seemed  near.  The  still  bay  began  to  move  ;  and  the  black 
shadow  of  a  ship  that  lay  on  the  gleaming  yellow  plain  began 
to  tremble,  as  the  water  cut  lines  of  light  across  the  reflection 
of  the  masts.  You  could  hear  voices  afar  off.  Under  the 
ruins  of  the  castle,  and  along  the  curves  of  the  coast,  the 
shadows  of  the  water  were  intensely  green ;  and  the  rocks 
were  growing  still  more  sharp  and  distinct  in  the  gathering 
dusk.  And  then  swiftly  the  pale  colours  of  the  west  waxed 
lurid  and  fierce  ;  the  mountains  became  of  a  glowing  purple  ; 
and  finally  all  the  plain  of  the  sea  was  dashed  with  a  wild 
glare  of  crimson,  while  the  walls  of  Dunolly  grew  black,  and 
overhead  the  first  scouts  of  the  marshalling  forces  of  the 
clouds  came  up  in  flying  shreds  of  gold  and  fire. 

"  Oh  aye,  we  may  hef  a  breeze  the  night,"  Mackenzie  said. 

"  I  hope  we  shan't  have  a  storm,"  Mrs.  Ingram  said. 

"  A  storm  ?  Oh  no,  no  storm  at  all.  It  will  be  a  ferry 
good  thing  if  the  wind  lasts  till  the  morning." 

Mackenzie  was  not  at  all  sure  that  there  would  be  storm 
enough ;  and  went  down  to  dinner  with  the  others  rather 
grumbling  over  the  fineness  of  the  weather.  Indeed,  when 
they  came  on  deck  again,  some  time  later  on,  even  the  slight 
breeze  that  he  had  hoped  for  seemed  impossible.  The  night 
was  perfectly  still.  A  few  stars  had  come  out  overhead,  and 
their  reflections  scarcely  trembled  on  the  smooth  waters  of 
the  bay.  A  cold,  fresh  scent  of  seaweed  was  about,  but  no 
wind.  The  orange  lights  in  Oban  burned  pale  and  clear ; 
the  yellow  points  that  told  of  the  steamers  and  the  yachts  in 
the  bay  did  not  move.  And  when  Mrs.  Ingram  came  up  to 
take  a  place  by  Sheila,  and  sit  arm-in-arm  with  her,  and 


THE  PRINCESS  SHEILA  473 

have  a  confidential  talk  with  her,  a  golden  moon  was  rising 
over  the  sharp  black  ridge  of  Kerrara  into  the  still  and 
beautiful  skies,  and  there  was  not  a  ripple  of  the  water  along 
the  sides  of  the  yacht  to  break  the  wonderful  silence  of  the 
night. 

"  My  dear,"  she  said,  "  you  have  a  beautiful  place  to  live 
in." 

"  But  we  do  not  live  here,"  Sheila  said,  with  a  smile. 
"  This  is  to  me  as  far  away  from  home  as  England  can  be 
to  you,  when  you  think  of  America.  When  I  came  here  the 
first  time  I  thought  I  had  got  into  another  world,  and  that 
I  should  never  be  able  to  get  back  again  to  the  Lewis." 

"  And  is  the  island  you  live  in  more  beautiful  than  this 
place  ? "  she  asked,  looking  round  on  the  calm  sea,  the 
lambent  skies,  and  the  far  mountains  beyond,  which  were 
grey  and  ghost-like  in  the  pale  glow  of  the  moon. 

"  If  you  see  our  island  on  such  a  night  as  this,  you  will 
say  it  is  the  most  beautiful  place  in  the  world.  It  is  the 
winter-tune  that  is  bad,  when  we  have  rain  and  mist  for 
weeks  together.  But  after  this  year  I  think  we  shall  spend 
all  the  winters  in  London ;  although  my  husband  does  not 
like  to  give  up  the  shooting  and  the  boating,  and  that  is 
very  good  amusement  for  him  when  he  is  tired  with  his 
work." 

"  That  island  life  certainly  seems  to  agree  with  him,"  said 
Mrs.  Ingram,  not  daring  even  to  hint  that  there  was  any 
further  improvement  in  Sheila's  husband  than  that  of  mere 
health  ;  "  I  have  never  seen  him  look  so  well  and  strong.  I 
scarcely  recognized  him  on  the  pier — he  was  so  brown  and — 
and  I  think  his  sailor-clothes  suit  him  so  well.  They  are 
a  little  rough,  you  know — indeed,  I  have  been  wondering 
whether  you  made  them  yourself." 

Sheila  laughed. 

"I  have  seen  you  look  at  them.  No,  I  did  not  make 
tlii'in.  But  the  cloth,  that  was  made  on  the  island,  and  it  is 
very  good  cloth  imk-ed." 

"  You  see  what  a  bad  imitation  of  your  costume  I  am  com- 
pelled to  wear.  Edward  would  have  it,  you  know.  I  think 
he'd  like  me  to  speak  like  you,  if  I  could  manage  it." 

"  Oh  no,  I  am  sure  he  would  not  like  that,"  Sheila  said ; 
"  for  many  a  time  he  used  to  correct  me,  and  when  he  first 


474  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

came  to  the  island  I  was  very  much  ashamed,  and  sometimes 
angry  with  him " 

"  But  I  suppose  you  got  accustomed  to  his  putting  every- 
body right  ?  "  said  Mr.  Ingram's  wife,  with  a  smile. 

"  He  was  always  a  very  good  friend  to  me,"  Sheila  said, 
simply. 

"  Yes,  and  I  think  he  is  now,"  said  her  companion,  taking 
the  girl's  hand,  and  forcing  herself  to  say  something  of  that 
which  lay  at  her  heart,  and  which  had  been  struggling  for 
utterance  during  all  this  beating  about  the  bush.  "  I  am 
sure  you  could  not  have  a  better  friend  than  he  is,  and  if  you 
only  knew  how  pleased  we  both  are  to  find  you  so  well — and 
so  happy " 

Sheila  saw  the  great  embarrassment  in  her  companion's 
face  ;  and  she  knew  the  good  feeling  that  had  driven  her  to 
this  stammering  confession. 

"  It  is  very  kind  of  you,"  Sheila  said,  gently.  "  I  am  very 
happy — yes — I  do  not  think  I  have  anything  more  to  wish 
for  in  the  world." 

There  was  no  embarrassment  in  her  manner  as  she  made 
this  simple  avowal ;  her  face  was  clear  and  calm  in  the 
moonlight ;  and  her  eyes  were  looking  somewhat  distantly 
at  the  sea  and  the  island  beyond.  Her  husband  came  for- 
ward with  a  light  shawl,  and  put  it  round  her  shoulders. 
She  took  his  hand,  and  for  a  moment  pressed  it  to  her  lips. 
Then  he  went  back  to  where  Ingram  and  old  Mackenzie 
were  smoking ;  and  the  two  women  were  left  to  their  con- 
fidences. Mrs.  Kavanagh  had  gone  below. 

What  was  this  great  noise,  next  morning,  of  the  rattling 
of  chains  and  the  flapping  of  canvas  overhead  ?  There  was 
a  slight  motion  in  the  boat  and  a  plashing  of  water  around 
her  sides.  Was  the  Princess  Sheila  getting  under  weigh  ? 

The  various  noises  ceased  ;  so  also  did  the  trembling  of 
the  vessel ;  and  apparently  all  was  silent  and  motionless 
again.  But  when  the  ladies  had  dressed,  and  got  up  on 
deck,  behold  they  were  in  a  new  world  !  All  around  them 
were  the  blue  waters  of  Loch  Linnhe,  lit  up  by  the  brilliant 
sunshine  of  the  morning.  A  light  breeze  was  just  filling 
the  great  white  sails ;  and  the  yacht,  heeling  over  slightly, 
was  cutting  her  placid  way  through  the  lapping  waves. 
How  keen  was  the  fresh  smell  of  the  air !  Sea-gulls  were 


THE  PRINCESS  SHEILA  475 

swooping  down  and  around  ;  over  there  the  green  island  of 
Lismore  lay  bright  in  the  sunshine  ;  the  lonely  hills  of 
Morven  and  the  mountains  of  Mull  had  a  thousand  shades 
of  colour  glowing  on  their  massive  shoulders  and  slopes  ;  the 
rains  of  Duart  Castle,  out  at  the  point,  seemed  too  fair  and 
picturesque  to  be  associated  with  dark  legends  of  blood. 
Were  these  faint  specks  in  the  south  the  far  islands  of  Colon- 
say  and  Oronsay  ?  Lavender  brought  his  glass  to  Mrs. 
Ingram,  and,  with  many  apologies  to  the  ladies  for  having 
woke  them  up  so  soon,  bade  her  watch  the  flight  of  two 
herons  making  in  for  the  mouth  of  Loch  Etive. 

They  had  postponed  for  the  present  that  southward  trip 
to  Jura.  The  glass  was  still  rising  ;  and  the  appearance  of 
the  weather  rendered  it  doubtful  whether  they  might  have 
wind  enough  to  make  such  a  cruise  anything  but  tedious. 
They  had  taken  advantage  of  this  light  breeze  in  the 
morning  to  weigh  anchor  and  stand  across  for  the  Sound  of 
Mull ;  if  it  held  out,  they  would  at  least  reach  Tobermory, 
and  take  their  last  look  at  a  town  before  rounding  Ardua- 
murchan  and  making  for  the  wild  solitudes  of  Skye. 

"  Well,  Cis,"  Ingram  said  to  his  wife,  as  he  busied 
himself  with  a  certain  long  fishing  line, "  what  do  you  think 
of  the  Western  Highlands  ?  " 

"  Why  did  you  not  tell  me  of  these  places  before  ?  "  she 
said,  rather  absently  ;  for  the  mere  height  of  the  mountains 
along  the  Sound  of  Mull — the  soft  green  woods  leading  up 
to  the  great  bare  shoulders  of  purple,  and  grey,  and  brown 
above — seemed  to  draw  away  one's  eyes  and  thoughts  from 
surrounding  objects. 

"  I  have,  often.     But  what  is  the  use  of  telling  ?  " 

"  It  is  the  most  wonderful  place  I  have  ever  seen,"  she 
said.  "  It  is  so  beautiful  and  so  desolate  at  the  same  time. 
What  lovely  colours  there  are  everywhere,  on  the  sea,  and 
on  the  shores  there,  and  on  the  hills ;  and  everything  is  so 
bright  and  gleaming.  But  no  one  seems  to  live  here.  I 
suppose  you  couldn't.  The  loneliness  of  the  mountains  and 
the  water  would  kill  you." 

"  My  dear  child,  these  are  town-bred  fancies,"  he  said,  in 
his  usual  calm  and  carelessly  sententious  manner  ;  "  if  you 
lived  there,  you  would  have  plenty  to  do  besides  looking  at 
the  hills  and  the  sea.  You  would  be  glad  of  a  fine  day  to 


476  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

let  you  go  out  and  get  some  fish  ;  or  go  up  the  hills  and  get 
a  hare  for  your  dinner  ;  and  you  would  not  get  sad  by 
looking  at  fine  colours,  as  town-folks  do.  Do  you  think 
Lavender  and  Sheila  spend  their  time  in  mooning  up  in 
that  island  of  theirs  ? — and  that,  I  can  tell  you,  is  a  trifle 
more  remote  and  wild  than  this  is.  They've  got  their  work 
to  do ;  and  when  that  is  done  they  feel  comfortable  and 
secure  in  a  well-built  house  ;  and  fairly  pleased  with  them- 
selves that  they  have  earned  some  rest  and  amusement.  I 
daresay,  if  you  built  a  cottage  over  there,  and  did  nothing 
but  look  at  the  sea,  and  the  hills,  and  the  sky  at  night,  you 
would  very  soon  drown  yourself.  I  suppose  if  a  man  were 
to  give  himself  up  for  three  months  to  thinking  of  the  first 
formation  of  the  world,  and  the  condition  of  affairs  before 
that  happened,  and  the  puzzle  about  how  the  materials  ever 
came  to  be  there,  he  would  grow  mad.  But  few  people 
luckily  have  the  chance  of  trying.  They've  got  their  bread 
to  earn  ;  if  they  haven't,  they're  bent  on  killing  something 
or  other — foxes,  grouse,  deer,  and  what  not ;  and  they  don't 
bother  about  the  stars,  or  what  lies  just  outside  the  region 
of  the  stars.  When  I  find  myself  getting  miserable  about 
the  size  of  a  mountain,  or  the  question  as  to  how  and  when 
it  came  there,  I  know  that  it  is  time  to  eat  something.  I 
think  breakfast  is  ready,  Cis.  Do  you  think  you  have 
nerve  to  cut  this  hook  out  of  my  finger  ? — and  then  we  can 
go  below." 

She  gave  a  little  scream,  and  started  up.  Two  drops  of 
blood  had  fallen  on  Lavender's  white  decks. 

"  No,  I  see  you  can't,"  he  said.  "  Open  this  knife,  and  I 
will  dig  it  out  myself.  Bless  the  girl,  are  you  going  to 
faint  because  I  have  scratched  my  finger  ?  " 

Lavender,  however,  had  to  be  called  in  to  help  ;  and, 
while  the  surgical  operation  was  going  forward,  Mrs. 
Ingram  said — 

"You  see  we  have  got  town's-f oiks'  hands  as  yet.  I 
suppose  they  will  get  to  be  leather  by  and  by.  I  am  sure 
I  don't  know  how  Mrs.  Lavender  can  do  those  things  about 
a  boat  with  the  tiny  little  hands  she  has." 

"  Yes,  Sheila  has  small  hands,  hasn't  she  ?  "  Lavender 
said,  as  he  bound  up  his  friend's  finger,  "but  then  she 
makes  up  for  that  by  the  bigness  of  her  heart." 


THE  PRINCESS  SHEILA  477 

It  was  a  pretty  and  kindly  speech,  and  it  pleased  Mrs. 
Ingram,  though  Sheila  did  not  hear  it.  Then,  when  the 
doctoring  was  over,  they  all  went  below  for  breakfast,  and 
an  odour  of  fish,  and  ham,  and  eggs,  and  coffee,  prevailed 
throughout  the  yacht. 

"  I  have  quite  fallen  in  love  with  this  manner  of  life," 
Mrs.  Ingram  said.  "  But,  tell  me,  is  it  always  as  pleasant 
as  this  ?  Do  you  always  have  those  blue  seas  around  you, 
and  green  shores  ?  Are  the  sails  always  white  in  the 
sunlight  ?  " 

There  was  a  dead  silence. 

"  Well,  I  would  not  say,"  Mackenzie  observed,  seriously, 
as  no  one  else  would  take  up  the  question ;  "  I  would  not 
say  it  is  always  ferry  good  weather  off  this  coast — oh  no,  I 
would  not  say  that ;  for  if  there  wass  no  rain,  what  would 
the  cattle  do,  and  the  streams  ? — they  would  not  hef  a  pool 
left  in  them.  Oh  yes,  there  is  rain  sometimes ;  but  you 
cannot  always  be  sailing  about ;  and  when  there  will  be 
rain,  you  will  hef  your  things  to  attend  to  indoors.  And 
there  is  always  plenty  of  good  weather  if  you  wass  wanting 
to  tek  a  trip  round  the  islands,  or  down  to  Oban — oh  yes, 
there  is  no  fear  of  that ;  and  it  will  be  a  ferry  good  coast 
whatever  for  the  harbours  ;  and  there  is  always  some  place 
you  can  put  into,  if  it  wass  coming  on  rough,  only  you  must 
know  the  coast,  and  the  lie  of  the  islands  and  the  rocks 
about  the  harbours.  And  you  would  learn  it  very  soon. 
There  is  Sheila  there ;  there  is  no  one  in  the  Lewis  will 
know  more  of  the  channels  in  Loch  Roag  than  she  does — 
not  one,  I  can  say  that ;  and  when  you  go  further  away, 
then  you  must  tek  some  one  with  you  who  wass  well 
acquaint  with  the  coast.  If  you  wass  thinking  of  having  a 
yacht,  Mr.  Ingram,  there  is  one  I  hef  heard  of  just  now  in 
Rothesay  that  is  for  sale,  and  she  is  a  ferry  good  boat,  but 
not  so  big  as  this  one " 

"  I  think  we'll  wait  till  my  wife  knows  more  about  it, 
Mr.  Mackenzie,"  Ingram  said.  "  Wait  till  she  gets  round 
Ardnamurchan,  and  has  crossed  the  Minch,  and  has  got  the 
final  Atlantic  swell  as  you  run  into  Borvabost." 

"  Edward,  you  frighten  me,"  his  wife  said  ;  "  I  was 
beginning  to  give  myself  courage." 

"  But  it  is  mere  nonsense  ! "  cried  Mackenzie,  impatiently. 


478  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

"  Kott  pless  me  !  There  is  no  chance  of  your  being  ill  in 
this  fine  weather  ;  and  if  you  had  a  boat  of  your  own,  you 
would  ferry  soon  get  accustomed  to  the  weather — oh,  very 
soon  indeed — and  you  would  hef  no  more  fear  of  the  water 
than  Sheila  has." 

"  Sheila  has  far  too  little  fear  of  the  water,"  her  husband 
said. 

"  Indeed,  and  that  is  true,"  said  her  father ;  "  and  it  is 
not  right  that  a  young  lass  should  go  about  by  herself  in  a 
boat " 

"But  you  know  very  well,  papa,  that  I  never  do  that 
now." 

"  Oh,  you  do  not  do  it  now,"  grumbled  Mackenzie.  "  No, 
you  do  not  do  it  now.  But  some  day  you  will  forget,  when 
there  is  something  to  be  done,  and  you  will  run  a  great 
danger,  Sheila." 

"  But  she  has  promised  never  to  go  out  by  herself ; 
haven't  you,  Sheila  ?  "  her  husband  said. 

"  I  did.  I  promised  that  to  you.  And  I  have  never 
been  out  since  by  myself." 

"Well,  don't  forget,  Sheila,"  said  her  father,  not  very 
sure  but  that  some  sudden  occasion  might  tempt  the  girl  to 
her  old  deeds  of  recklessness. 

The  two  American  ladies  had  little  to  fear.  The  Hebrides 
received  them  with  fair  sunshine  and  smooth  seas  ;  and  all 
the  day  long  their  occupation  was  but  to  watch  the  wild 
birds  flying  from  island  to  island ;  and  mark  the  gliding  by 
of  the  beautiful  coasts ;  and  listen  to  the  light  rushing  of 
the  waves  as  the  fresh  sea-breeze  flew  through  the  rigging. 
And  Sheila  was  proud  to  teach  them  something  of  the 
mystery  of  handling  a  yacht ;  and  would  give  them  the 
tiller  sometimes,  while  her  eye,  as  clear  and  keen  as  her 
father's,  kept  watch  and  ward  over  the  shapely  vessel  that 
was  making  for  the  northern  seas.  One  evening  she  said  to 
her  friends — 

"  Do  you  see  that  point  that  runs  out  on  this  side  of  the 
small  islands  ?  Round  that  we  enter  Loch  Eoag." 

The  last  warm  light  of  the  sun  was  shining ;  along  the 
houses  of  Borvabost  as  the  Princess  Sheila  passed.  The 
people  there  had  made  out  the  yacht  long  ere  she  came  close 
to  land  ;  and  Mackenzie  knew  that  twenty  eager  scouts 


THE  PRINCESS  SHEILA  479 

would  fly  to  tell  the  news  to  Scarlett  and  Duncan,  so  that 
ample  preparation  would  be  made  in  the  newly-finished 
house  down  by  the  sea.  The  wind,  however,  had  almost 
died  away  ;  and  they  were  a  long  time  getting  into  Loch 
Roag  in  this  clear  twilight.  They  who  were  making  their 
first  visit  to  Sheila's  island  sat  contentedly  enough  on  deck, 
however,  amazed  and  bewildered  by  the  beauty  of  the  scene 
around  them.  For  now  the  sun  had  long  sunk,  but  there 
was  a  glow  all  over  the  heavens  ;  and  only  in  the  far  east 
did  the  silver  stars  begin  to  glimmer  over  the  dark  plain  of 
the  loch.  Mealasabhal,  Suainabahl,  Cracabahl,  lifted  their 
grand  shoulders  and  peaks  into  this  wondrous  sky,  and 
stood  dark  and  clear  there,  with  the  silence  of  the  sea  around 
them.  As  the  night  came  on  the  trembling  stare  grew  more 
distinct  overhead,  but  the  lambent  glow  in  the  north  did 
not  pale.  They  entered  a  small  bay.  Up  there  on  a 
plateau  of  the  rocks  stood  a  long,  low  house,  with  all  its 
windows  gleaming  in  the  dusk.  The  gig  was  put  off  from 
the  yacht ;  in  the  strange  stillness  of  the  night  the  ripples 
plashed  around  her  prow  ;  her  oars  struck  fire  in  the  water 
as  the  men  rowed  in  to  the  land.  And  then,  as  Sheila's 
guests  made  their  way  up  to  the  house,  and  when  they 
reached  the  veranda,  and  turned  to  look  at  the  sea,  and  the 
loch,  and  the  far  mountains  opposite,  they  beheld  the  golden 
sickle  of  the  moon  stealing  out  from  behind  the  black  out- 
line of  Suainabahl  into  the  soft  and  violet  skies.  As  the 
yellow  moon  got  further  over,  a  pathway  of  gold  began  to 
tremble  on  Loch  Roag,  and  they  could  see  the  white  curve 
of  sand  around  the  bay.  The  ah-  was  sweet  with  the  cold 
odours  of  the  seaweed.  There  was  a  murmur  of  the  far 
Atlantic  all  around  the  silent  coast. 

It  was  the  old  familiar  picture  that  had  charmed  the 
imagination  of  Sheila's  first  and  only  lover,  when  as  yet  she 
was  to  him  as  some  fair  and  wonderful  Princess,  living  in  a 
lonely  island,  and  clothed  round  about  with  the  glamour  of 
old  legends  and  stories  of  the  sea.  Was  she  any  longer  this 
strange  Sea-Princess,  with  dreams  in  her  eyes,  and  the 
mystery  of  the  night  and  the  stars  written  in  her  beautiful 
face  ?  Or  was  she  to  him  now — what  all  the  world  had 
long  ago  perceived  her  to  be — a  tender  wife,  a  faithful 
companion,  and  a  true  and  loyal-hearted  woman  ?  Sheila 


480  A  PRINCESS  OF  THULE 

walked  quietly  into  the  house  ;  there  was  something  for 
her  friends  to  behold  ;  and  with  a  great  pride  and  gentle- 
ness and  gladness,  Scarlett  went  away  on  a  particular  errand. 
The  old  King  of  Borva  was  still  down  at  the  yacht,  looking 
after  the  landing  of  certain  small  articles  of  luggage. 
Duncan  had  come  forward  to  Ingram  and  said,  "  And  are 
you  ferry  well,  sir  ?  "  and  Mairi,  arriving  from  Mackenzie's 
house,  had  done  the  same.  Then  there  was  a  wild  squeal 
of  the  pipes  in  the  long  apartment  where  supper  was  laid — 
the  unearthly  gathering-cry  of  a  clan ;  until  Sheila's 
husband  dashed  into  the  place  and  threatened  to  throw 
John  into  the  sea  if  he  did  not  hold  his  peace.  John  was 
offended,  and  would  probably  have  gone  up  the  hill-side, 
and,  in  revenge,  played  "Mackrimmon  shall  no  more 
return,"  only  that  he  knew  the  irate  old  King  of  Borva 
would,  in  such  a  case,  literally  fulfil  the  threat  that  had 
been  lightly  uttered  by  his  son-in-law.  In  another  room, 
where  two  or  three  women  were  together,  one  of  them 
suddenly  took  both  of  Sheila's  hands  in  hers,  and  said,  with 
a  great  look  of  kindness  in  her  eyes — "My  dear,  I  can 
believe  now  what  you  told  me  that  night  at  Oban." 
And  Sheila's  heart  was  too  full  to  make  answer. 


THE   END. 


LOXDUN  :     I'UINTBD   BY    WILLIAM   CLOWES   AND  SONS,   LIMITED, 
STiMKOBD  STBEET   AND   CU.llil.NU    CUOSS. 


The  following  if  a  complete  list  of  the  new  Half-Crown  Edition 
of  Mr.  BLACK'S  Novels,  and  the  probable  order  of  their 
monthly  issue  beginning  January  1892. 


A  Daughter  of  Heth.  (Ready.) 
The  Strange  Adventures  of  a 

Phaeton.     (Ready.) 
A  Princess  of  Thule.   (Ready.) 
In  Silk  Attire. 
Kilmeny. 
Madcap  Violet. 
Three  Feathers. 
The  Maid  of  Killeena. 
Green  Pastures  and  Piccadilly. 
Macleod  of  Dare. 
Lady  Silverdale's  Sweetheart. 
White  Wings. 
Sunrise. 


The  Beautiful  Wretch. 

Shandon  Bells. 

Adventures  in  Thule. 

Yolande. 

Judith  Shakespeare. 

The  Wise  Women  of  Inverness. 

White  Heather. 

Sahina  Zembra. 

The  Strange  Adventures  of  a 

House  Boat 
In  Far  Lochaber. 
The  Penance  of  John  Logan. 
Prince  Fortunatus. 


NEW  YORK:    HARPER  AND  BROTHERS,  FRANKLIN  SQUARE. 


2    I 


/v; 

o 


A     000  085  484 


